The IB Diploma, For University And Beyond
Heather Mulkey, International Schools of London

Page 38

Global Immigration – Family Experience
Kasia Pinska, Fragomen LLP

Page 40

Global Immigration Update
Fragomen Global, LLP

Page 46

Diary Dates

Page 47

Directory

International HR Adviser, PO Box 921, Sutton, SM1 2WB, United Kingdom
Publisher • Helen Elliott +44 (0) 20 8661 0186 • Email: helen@internationalhradviser.com
Publishing Director • Damian Porter +44 (0) 1737 551506 • Email: damian@internationalhradviser.com
www.internationalhradviser.com
In Loving Memory of Assunta Mondello
While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information contained in this issue of “International HR Adviser”, the publishers and Directors of Inkspell Ltd cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.
Neither the publishers of “International HR Adviser” nor any third parties who provide information for “Expatriate Adviser” magazine, shall have any responsibility for or be liable in respect of the content or the accuracy
of the information so provided, or for any errors or omissions therein. “International HR Adviser” does not endorse any products, services or company listings featured in this issue.

Cover Design by Chris Duggan

Summer International HR Adviser

1

2

HR across borders - let’s not colonise

HR Across Borders Let’s Not Colonise
Managing employees in multiple
jurisdictions is not exactly a new
phenomenon but are we doing it the
right way? A transnational HR team
works best when it acts as a supportive
matrix, where operational work
is carried out locally by those best
qualified to do so and central resources
manage the needs of senior executives.
Yet it seems that many companies
looking to expand internationally
seem not to trust the capabilities of
local managers and staff and so they
expatriate lots of their own people to
the new location. On the plus side, this
embeds the company DNA, standards
and expectations. Less positively, this
does not empower or train up locals
quickly and at worst can appear as a
form of modern colonialism.
Picture the following scenarios:
• Globalpowerhouse plc is headquartered in London with subsidiaries in
New York, Johannesburg and Sydney.
The HR team holds a weekly conference call. To try and accommodate time
zones, the London boss schedules the
call at 12 noon GMT. Johannesburg is
just one hour ahead, so that’s no problem. The New York colleague can call
from home at 7am or come in early if
that suits her better and the Sydney colleague dials in at 9pm. That’s just the
way it is. Or is it? I have worked in an
organisation where the time of the conference call was rotated fairly so that
everyone had a turn in being inconvenienced. A small thing but it went a long
way in creating a sense of equality.
• Globalisation S.A. has its registered
office in Geneva. The company acquires
an entity in Argentina and the process
of merging cultures starts. The global
head of HR, a Swiss, attends a meeting
in Buenos Aires and notices that many
of the team from various countries
in Latin America, who had just met,
very quickly loop arms, put their arms
around one another or hold hands. He
feels very uncomfortable as this would
be quite alien in markets like the United
States or most of Europe and Asia. Yet
it clearly felt very natural for this group.
Just because our own cultural norms are
different, it doesn’t mean that we are
International HR Adviser Summer

right and they are wrong, especially as
this meeting was in Buenos Aires.
• Big Apple Limited, based in California, acquires a small company in Lyons,
France. After a few years it becomes
necessary to downsize. Performance reviews have been held annually
since the acquisition with US managers appraising French team members.
Ultimately the weaker performers are
retrenched. The global head of HR
is shocked when several retrenched
individuals take the company to court
declaring the process invalid. She did
not know that French law requires
documentation relating to performance
reviews to be written in French. English may be the lingua franca of business but in some jurisdictions it is an
offence not to deliver content related to
an individual’s employment in the local
language.
The examples are countless but they all
point to the challenges of working across
borders. From my years of experience in
this area I have distilled a few key aspects
which I hope could serve as signposts for
others.

Global HR leadership
HR leaders need to act as conduits of
information, providing big picture,
directional messaging out to the field
while picking up on feedback from the
‘coal face’ and making sure that this
information gets to where it needs to in
the corporate hub.
Regular but not gratuitous
communication is good, as stand-alone
remote HR colleagues can feel acutely
lonely. When bringing a disparate group
of HR colleagues together for meetings,
calls or conferences, make sure that the
majority of the content is relevant for the
majority of the delegates.
Make plenty of time for your remote
colleagues and reports because no matter
how much time you set aside for this, you
will still always spend more time with
colleagues in the same office.

Creating a sense of team
HR leaders should aim to create a vision
for the whole function so that everyone
can see where the team is heading and

how it will achieve its objectives. This
should be clearly linked to the commercial
imperatives of the business. Ideally, each
person should have a clear idea of how
their contribution forms part of the
delivery of the overall HR plan.
Promote a consistency of approach so
that any business manager interacting
with a member of the HR team in any
location would have a similar experience.
Those HR people based away from
the centre will often think that they are
missing out on critical information and
interaction simply by not being there, so
no matter how busy you are, try to avoid
cancelling scheduled calls and meetings
with your HR colleagues.

Sensitivity to local differences,
needs and expectations
Think global, act local (sometimes called
‘glocal’). Consider whether your natural
manner for expressing thoughts and ideas
will work outside your own country. For
example, some nationalities prefer the
delivery of a clear message, followed by
the context. Others, such as the English,
like to provide the context and then
explain the key message resulting from
that context.

Relevance of communication
It’s important to find a way to make all
participants feel that that there is benefit
in sharing information. Try to focus on
the ‘what’s in it for me?’ Stand-alone
remote HR colleagues can feel that
they are required to give an account of
themselves while other colleagues with a
group or central role can question why it
is useful for them to spend time educating
the team on the ground. It may sound
clichéd but everyone should remember to
put themselves in others’ shoes. This can
help avoid petty politics and rather create
an atmosphere of trust, support and
collaboration between HR colleagues.

Conflicts
How flexible can you be when there is
conflict between a global policy and
local law, custom and practice or cultural
norms? In this event, agreeing a set of
principles which can be tailored to the
local context is much more likely to work

HR across borders - let’s not colonise
and gain acceptance than something
imposed unilaterally from above
Harmonisation can be very expensive
if certain things are statutory in some
locations. For example, managers
and leaders from countries with less
protection for the employee can struggle
to understand how employment works in
locations where the employee has more
rights. Typically, when first confronted
with a workers’ council or employee
representatives, inexperienced managers
will take an adversarial position, seeing
the relationship and any dialogue as winlose. However, when treated as allies and
partners, such bodies can often be helpful
to management in the implementation of
difficult initiatives, such as downsizing a
workforce.
In conclusion, HR maybe needs to ‘do
its own HR’ in the area of cross-border
business. I have so often seen people in
group or central roles misunderstand
their sphere of responsibility and think
they rule the world, especially if they have
the word ‘global’ or ‘international’ in their
job title.
As an industry, we should consider
offering training to managers who take

on global or international roles. Let’s
collaborate and develop best practice. As
the world continues to globalise, such an
initiative could go a long way.

David Perry, Head of Human
Resourses, Maitkland

David Perry joined Maitland on 1
May and will be based in London.
David is a highly experienced international HR practitioner and he has
coordinated HR teams across as many
as 42 different countries. He brings
19 years of financial services experience, including inverstment banking,
insureance broking, private exquity,
M&A and global markets knowledge
to the firm.
Davis joined Maitland from Marsh
and McLennan Companies Inc.,
a global professional services firm
providing advise and solutions in the
areas of risk, strategy and human capital, where he was Head of International HR and Centres of Expertice.
Prior to that he was Head of HR for
Global Banking and Markets Products in the combined entitiy following the acquisition of ABN ANRO's
investment banking businesses by the
Royal Bank of Scotland.
David has a BA in French and Business Studies from the University of
Sheffield.
Maitland is a multijurisdictional legal,
fiduciary and fund services group with
$165 billion under administration. It
employs 700 people in 14 offices across
13 countries.
For more information please contact:
david.perry@maitlandgroup.com

Summer International HR Adviser

3

4

Pensions

Pensions And The Changing Face Of
Global Mobility
Both global mobility and employersponsored pension schemes are undergoing great change. Overseas assignments have increased by 25% in the
last ten years and, according to the
PWC survey Talent Mobility 2020 and
beyond, are predicted to rise a further
50% by 2020. And it’s not just that global mobility is on the increase – origins
and destinations are also changing, as
is the nature of the benefit package
for mobile employees. Here I’d like to
take a look at some of these changes
and the implications they may have
for employer-sponsored pensions and
long-term savings plans.
European nations have been sending
their people overseas on long-term assignments for hundreds of years. The Spanish,
English, Portuguese and Dutch in particular reached out to Africa, the Far East and
the Americas in the 17th Century and the
connection with overseas travel and pensions starts around then too, with the first
known pension scheme being established
for Royal Navy Officers in the 1670s.
By the 1970s international assignments
were largely about multi-national companies based in Europe and the USA sending their most highly skilled and senior
employees to the Middle East and Far East
to develop and manage their burgeoning
business operations there. Typically these
assignments would be for two to five years,
incentivised by a very attractive expatriate
benefit package, after which the employee
returned home. Also typical would be
membership of a defined benefit pension
plan which the employee would remain
in while overseas. Membership of defined
benefit pensions peaked around this time
with, according to a 2012 Pension Policy
Institute (PPI) report, around 8 million
active members in these plans in the UK
in 1967. By 2011 this had declined to just
1.6 million active members.
Until A Day (6 April 2006, the
introduction of so called ‘pensions
simplification’), membership of UK
occupational schemes for expatriates was
restricted to 10 years, but few overseas
assignments lasted this long and they were
often interspersed with long periods back
in the UK. And if longer assignments
were envisaged, UK companies had
International HR Adviser Summer

the option of offering membership of a
scheme established under Section 615
(6) Income and Corporation Taxes Act
1988, commonly referred to as a Section
615 plan. In the run-up to A Day, the
Government did consider scrapping
Section 615 plans as the ten-year limit on
membership of occupational plans was
removed under the simplification changes,
but this would have been a great loss given
the rapid decline in occupational pensions
in the UK.
For many European and US-based companies the traditional expatriate model still
exists, but for a number of reasons it is on
the decline and a new era of global mobility
has begun. That is not to say that expatriate numbers are declining, indeed as mentioned at the start, these are very much on
the increase, but the trend, at least among
US and Western European companies, has
been away from short-term assignments to
longer-term placements.
The main drivers of the changes in
the face of overseas assignments are cost
reduction and the rise of talent from the
emerging markets.

The cost challenge
Companies are increasingly reluctant to
fund traditional expatriate packages and
often now opt to localise their overseas
assignees, with salary, pension, healthcare and other benefits being set at levels similar to the local market. Increasingly members of occupational pension
schemes are unable to remain in them,
instead they are offered membership of
inappropriate local pension schemes.
Withdrawal from the home pension
scheme can be for more complex reasons
– for example to avoid creating a crossborder pension scheme. Under the EU
cross-border regulations, occupational
pension schemes based in an EU country with members in another EU country must apply for cross-border status.
They must then create separate country
sections and meet the social and labour
laws of each of these country sections. In
addition, defined benefit schemes must
be 100% funded if cross-border, a very
significant problem for many schemes as,
after years of relatively flat markets and
the global economic crisis, the average

defined benefit scheme in the Western
World is currently 20% underfunded.
Setting aside this particular challenge,
occupational pension schemes, especially
defined benefit schemes, are in sharp
decline anyway due to improving mortality rates and the increasing legislative
burden. They are rapidly being replaced
by group personal pension plans, in reality individual pension plans which bring
their own problems for overseas assignees, such as the five-year limit on making
contributions after leaving the UK. While
this may seem to be a particularly UK perspective, many other countries have their
own restrictions, limitations and pressures
within their pensions systems – for example, 80% of Irish defined benefit schemes
are underfunded and the position is little
better in Canada and the US.
So, we have the traditional expatriate
model under pressure due to cost and
the changing shape of pension provision
across Europe. Despite this, multinationals still need to send their experienced
and skilled people to countries where
their business is expanding. While comprehensive expat packages may not be
what they once were, benefits remain
high on the agenda of these mobile
employees and pension needs must still
be met by the employer, whether this is
driven by employment contracts, a global
benefits strategy or recruitment and retention issues. And local pension solutions
are often not the answer as, particularly
outside of Western Europe and the US,
they may have low contribution limits
and investment restrictions such as statutory requirements to invest in local Government bonds or investment funds. In
addition, building up a pension in countries other than where you intend to retire,
perhaps in a weak currency, is simply not
attractive. For international HR and compensation and benefits teams, these trends
and challenges are making it increasingly
difficult to provide good quality pension
benefits for overseas assignees. But there
are solutions available.

The rise of the developing
world
The other major factor impacting the
issue is the rapid growth in talent and

Pensions
mobility from the emerging market
economies such as India, China and
Brazil. The model here is very different
to the traditional expat and raises many
new challenges for the HR department of
a multinational company.
This employee is typically younger than
the traditional expatriate and sees working
overseas as an essential part of their career
development. They are likely to be more
nomadic, readily expecting and happy to
move from country to country throughout their career, many with no intention of
ever returning home. They are likely to be
highly skilled, much sought after and less
likely to be committed to one employer,
being as readily mobile between employers as they are between locations. Many
will target Western Europe and the US to
develop their career, but will equally look
to the developing world for opportunities, whether that is the South and Central Americas, Africa or the Far East.
This new emerging global talent is
unlikely to have membership of an occupational pension and is very unlikely to
be in a defined benefit arrangement.
They will be younger and may be from
a background where it is traditional and
expected that the younger generation
will support the older generation back
home and so cash may be a much stronger
driver than benefits. This makes retention
more difficult as they move on for the
promise of more ready income. Importantly, though, they will fare badly from
local pension and social security systems,
which typically lack portability, resulting
in a string of small deferred benefits across
a number of countries. Pensions should
therefore remain one of the key elements
of a good benefit package, not just for
the employee’s sake but also to satisfy the
increasing pressure on multinationals to
be socially responsible and to have a globally consistent approach to benefits.
Interestingly, it was the retention of
experienced employees that was one of the
biggest drivers in the growth of defined
benefit occupational pension in the West
in the 50s and 60s, but their demise looks
highly unlikely to be reversed as longevity continues its upward trend. Even those
multinationals that still operate defined
benefit schemes have largely closed them
to new members. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Annual
Survey of 2011 quotes that just 19%
of UK defined benefit schemes are still
open to new members and increasingly
such schemes are ceasing future accrual

for existing members. It seems unlikely
then, that occupational pensions, particularly defined benefit schemes, will be the
answer to retaining this emerging mobile
talent. Instead, companies will need to be
increasingly flexible and creative in the
design of reward and benefit packages.

Flexibility and Creativity
So what would an ideal solution that could
meet the needs of the new world of talent
and the more traditional expatriate model
look like? Perhaps it would allow membership of any nationality, living and working
in any country. Contributions would be
in any currency and investment could be
made into a world-wide range of investment funds. Contributions would attract
tax relief in the country of residence,
growth would be tax-free and the entire
proceeds could be withdrawn as a tax-free
lump sum on retirement or withdrawn as
a regular income, again in any currency.
Perhaps up to 50% of the fund could be
drawn down earlier, to pay off a mortgage,
for school fees or whatever the individual
wishes. There would be no limits on what
the employer or the employee could contribute to the plan and no lifetime allowance restrictions. Payments in would also
avoid local social security charges and proceeds would avoid any form of inheritance
tax. The only restriction would be that
employers could build in vesting scales to
enable them to use the plan as a recruitment and retention tool – so, for example,
the employee would only become entitled
to the company’s contributions after five
years of continuous service.
Is this pure fantasy? No - in fact it
already largely exists, at least for our
intrepid overseas assignees, and it’s called
an international pension plan. Okay,
tax relief on contributions doesn’t apply,
although in fact it might. For example,
if the company has a UK arm and sets
up the international pension plan under
Section 615 (6) of ICTA 88, as mentioned
earlier, then contributions are deductible
against Corporation Tax and no National
Insurance contributions fall due. Growth
is certainly tax-free and a lump sum is
possible instead of the taxable income that
applies under many pension systems. The
lump sum may also be free of income and
inheritance taxes, depending on when and
where the benefits are withdrawn. Again,
Section 615 plans can create this for people
retiring in the UK, and other international
plans may create a similar result for people
living and retiring elsewhere. Everything

else suggested in my ideal solution
is actually entirely feasible under an
international pension plan. You may know
these plans as international retirement
plans, or perhaps just as offshore savings
plans, but they are a much underrated,
flexible tool in the HR armoury.
Returning to the new generation of
globally mobile people, let’s consider
again the main problems. These people are younger and more likely to be
attracted by cash than tying up money
in a series of pensions as they move from
country to country. The employer, however, needs a way to retain them other
than by simply increasing pay. The international pension can be positioned as
similar to cash in that benefits can be
taken as cash in the future. The company
can create its own rules around withdrawing cash, perhaps, as suggested, allowing
up to 50% to be withdrawn at any time,
or by stipulating a relatively young age
when access is allowed. Remember, these
plans are not restricted by complex pension legislation, so creativity is entirely
allowed. Retention is then achieved by
building in vesting, say five years with a
sliding scale allowing vesting at 20% of
the fund each year.
I started out by looking a little at the
history of overseas assignments and the
changes now taking place to these and
related pension planning. The many
pressures on occupational pension
schemes mean that they are less likely to
offer a complete solution in the future,
except perhaps for the largest multinationals with well-funded schemes. As the
world of overseas assignments evolves, it
is essential that compensation & benefits
and HR professionals consider all the
available options. In some cases a PanEuropean occupational scheme will be
the best solution, slow as these have been
to develop. In others, a series of local
pensions may be the answer. But for
many, it will be flexibility and creativity
that will provide the edge when hunting
for the talent now emerging from the
developing economies.
Stewart Allanson
Zurich Corporate
Life & Pensions is a
leading provider of
International Pension Plans.
For more information, email
stewart.allanson@zurich.com or
telephone on +44 (0) 1242 664443
Summer International HR Adviser

5

Expatriate Adviser Summer

Autumn International HR Adviser

International HR Strategy

Developmental Assignments Enablers Not Solutions
Global Mobility is witnessing an
increasing number of assignments
initiated for development purposes
(see figure 1); yet reports suggest that
return on investment from these types
of assignments is often limited. In this
article we will look at the roots of this
phenomenon, and outline some strategic principles followed by organisations which successfully optimise
return on investment from these assignments. Finally, we will look at some
best practice examples of how different organisations have embedded these
principles within their Global Mobility
programmes.
Figure 1: In the Deloitte 2011
Strategic Moves survey, over one
third of participants rated global
leadership development and pipeline
as the global mobility issue considered most critical to the success of
the participating organisations, and
in the 2012 survey 54% of participating companies rated this as a top
global mobility challenge. Likewise,
the recent Peer Perspectives – Global
Mobility Trends Survey Report 2012
from Deloitte found a 14% increase
in the number of companies using
Development Assignment policies
compared to the 2011 results.

gaps. This is largely driven by the need for
the future leaders of these organisations to
have a ‘global mindset’ gained through
exposure to the business, operations and
markets in multiple jurisdictions.

Little return on investment?
Despite the focus on development
assignments, evidence suggests that organisations may not be fully capitalising on the
knowledge and skills development that
their employees experience. Findings from
the Deloitte Peer Perspectives report show
that only 26% of companies feel that the
knowledge and experience gained by the
repatriated employee is used effectively.
This is a surprising statistic given that
leadership development is the main business justification for the additional cost
in these cases, and suggests that many
organisations are getting little to no
return on investment from these types of
assignments.

How can organisations
capitalise on development
assignments?
The fact that some organisations do effectively utilise the knowledge and experience gained by their employees on assignment demonstrates that it is possible to
optimise the return on investment from
development assignments. Organisations
that succeed in doing this tend to adhere
to three strategic principles:

1. Understand the value
proposition of development
assignments
Look at whom you are sending on assignment and why, and how this aligns to
long-term business and talent objectives.
This requires strong candidate selection
procedures and appropriate business case
justification and approvals processes.
Depending on the business context,
some organisations may find that largely
domestic-based development programmes
are more appropriate for some candidates
and will achieve the same desired effects
in the long-term. Likewise, local talent
development, acquisition and retention
strategies may be a more cost-effective
way of developing future leaders for local
overseas operations.

2. Put in place effective
career pathing, career
development and succession
planning strategies
Knowledge and skills development will
be lost to the organisation if the assignee
leaves the company, and likewise will be
made redundant if the individual is subsequently put in a role where they cannot
make use of their development. For development assignments to be most effective,
career development and succession planning decisions should be made before the
individual has started the assignment, so
that there is a clear goal for development

Assignments as development
opportunities
International assignments have been used
by companies and organisations for a
number of decades as part of their global
resourcing and talent management toolkit. However, we are seeing a shift in the
usage of international assignments. As
organisations expand and globalise, operations in overseas locations become more
developed and local staff begin to fill
roles, there is an increasing focus on using
international assignments for employee
development or leadership development
purposes, rather than to fill local skills
Summer International HR Adviser

7

8

International HR Strategy
and a relevant position secured for the
individual post-assignment.
Long-term succession planning also
ensures that the assignment value-proposition is clarified upfront, and sends
a clear message of commitment to the
individual thereby mitigating the risk of
post-assignment attrition.

3. Recognise that global
mobility is an enabler and not
an outcome
An international assignment offers
employees a multitude of new experiences
and learning opportunities, but the fact of
having completed an assignment does not
automatically mean that an employee will
have fulfilled their development objectives. Rather than mandating an international assignment as a pre-requisite for
leadership positions, the most effective
leadership development programmes keep
development objectives at their core and
utilise global mobility as one of a suite of
tools to achieve these.

How can these principles be
applied in practice?
Although many organisations are still using
global mobility for employee development
in a relatively ad-hoc manner, more and
more organisations are putting in place
structured programmes which utilise global mobility to achieve their talent development objectives. (see figure 3 below).
The common thread to the majority of successfully implemented talent
mobility programmes is that they enable the organisation to meet their talent

objectives by having clear goals around
the type of development they want to
see in their staff, which is supported by
a structured programme which offers a
clear career path to scheme participants
and is supported by mobility as opposed
to a simple talent mobility policy construct.
One such organisation, a UK based
company, has recently put in place a
new development programme for its
management grades. Under the programme the top 20% of performers from
the graduate scheme are given the opportunity to develop through roles in a number
of the organisation’s mature and emerging
markets. Furthermore, in order to demonstrate their investment in these ‘future leaders’ and motivate them towards high performance, the organisation has put in place
a discretionary share award scheme which
vests over the 3 years of the programme.
Rotational programmes are also frequently used for development schemes,
such as that of a UK based engineering
company. Under their 5 year fast-track
management scheme graduates rotate
through a number of domestic and overseas project placements, using the different roles as an opportunity to add to their
skills portfolio and develop a broad knowledge of the business. Although graduates
on this scheme have responsibility for
finding their next role for each move, the
importance placed on the scheme by the
company means that a number of such
project roles are always made available.
Additionally, all scheme members have a
senior level mentor within the company

to help guide them through the process
and offer career management support.
International assignments can be one
of the most effective ways to develop globally-minded and globally-experienced
professionals capable of leading global
organisations, and this is evidenced by the
increasing use of international assignments
for development purposes. However, as
demonstrated above, organisations need
to be clear on the value-proposition of
these assignments to ensure that they are
the best method of obtaining the desired
results. Prior to having made the decision
to invest in a developmental assignment,
organisations also need to ensure that they
have the appropriate career pathing, workforce planning capabilities and employee
retention practices in place to keep these
employees within their organisation and
put them in appropriate positions postassignment, where they can use their new
knowledge and skills, in order to capitalise
on this investment.
Andrew Robb
Andrew leads
Deloitte’s Global Mobility
Transformation
(GMT) practice
across EMEA.
He has extensive experience
in leading large
mobility transformation projects which includes global
workforce planning, mobility strategy,
policy design and implementation,
best practice process design, vendor
rationalisation, organisation and role
restructuring.
Andy can be contacted at
anrobb@deloitte.co.uk
or +44 20 7303 3237
Helen Odell
Helen is Manager
within Deloitte’s
Global Mobility
Transformation
(GMT) practice
in Switzerland
where she has
extensive experience leading and
managing global mobility projects in
a range of industries. Her key areas
of focus include programme assessment and benchmarking, strategy,
policy development, service delivery
structuring, process design, and global
mobility talent management.
Helen can be contacted at
heodell@deloitte.ch
or +41 58279 7303

International HR Adviser Summer

Autumnâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; International HR Adviser

10

Global Talent Mobility

Global Talent Mobility - Modest And
Marginal Or Significant And Strategic?
In today’s global economy, human
capital ingredients such as knowledge,
experience, competencies and skills
need to be sustained and increased,
not only in service organisations or
in knowledge intensive industries but
across all types of organisations and
all industry sectors. Academic research
papers and consultant survey reports
have during the past decade over and
over again reinforced the notion that
strategic talent management is – or at
least ought to be - at the top of the HR
agenda within multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, despite a
widespread acceptance among business
leaders of the fact that managing talent
matters, corporate HR functions are
still struggling to emerge as talent leaders within their organisations.
If HR professionals in the future want
to move from being modest and marginal
to significant and strategic as talent leaders,
then they will need to effectively address the
challenges of lack of ambition, lack of buyin, lack of ownership, lack of collaboration,
and lack of situational (and organisational)
adaptation within their organisations.

The Role of Global Mobility
within Global Talent
Management
From an organisational perspective, global
talent management can be defined as the
processes aiming to attract, grow, reward,
and retain an organisation’s human capital (Hogan, 2009). Talent management
processes such as performance management, compensation management and
recruiting are often cited by HR decision
makers as top priorities of their organisations. Simultaneously these HR decision
makers highlight that succession planning, goal management and recruitment
are still in fact weak points within their
organisation (Forrester, 2008). Within
these organisations the business case for
strategic global talent management has
probably not been properly formulated
and/or implemented.
According to a 2012 Conference
Board survey of 776 executives, talent
was identified as a key factor addressing other top business challenges such
as business growth, innovation and cost
International HR Adviser Summer

optimisation. (Conference Board, 2012).
Although talent management is increasingly
seen as a critical issue, many of the organisations that have increased their investment in human capital question whether
it is paying off. Earlier this year the results
from Mercer’s new Talent Barometer Survey indicated that 60% of organisations
worldwide report increasing their investment in talent in recent years. However, a
much smaller percentage of respondents,
24%, say their plans are highly effective in
meeting immediate and long-term human
capital needs (Mercer, 2013). These types
of results bring into question whether the
right type of human capital investments
are being made by organisations.
During the economic downturn the
shift of Global Talent Management from
focus on overall talent reviews of entire
employee populations to a streamlined
focus on key strategic roles and the identification of high potentials became even
more pronounced. The organisational
talent strategies developed under these
circumstances often lacked breadth as it
focused primarily on activities for one
segment of an organisation’s entire workforce. More long-term talent approaches
aiming at “building” talent internally versus “buying” talent from the global talent
market were significantly downsized by
many organisations. What this means is
that organisations today find themselves
with global talent strategies and processes that are suboptimised. While an
organisation’s existing talent management
approach may successfully address the
leadership development needs of its top
leaders in the organisation, it may ignore
the fact that its HR processes are still
developed in professional silos that coexist but do not necessarily collaborate.
Due to an ageing population in most
industrialised countries, most organisations will face an increasing skilled talent
shortage in the future. In order to attract,
develop and retain the talent needed,
organisations will need to ensure that
their entire workforce is appropriately
segmented, and that appropriate strategies catering to both organisational and
individual needs across identified talent
categories are developed. All organisations need a mix of talent characteristics

to be successful, and future global talent
management strategies should therefore
ensure that the right talent mix is successfully sustained. It is important to note,
that, although a crucial component of a
strategic talent management strategy, the
needs of an organisation’s high potentials
will by itself not bring about a total global
talent mobility transformation within the
organisation.
An IBM research study from 2008
made it transparent that “only 13% of
organisations believe they have a very
clear understanding of the skills they will
require in the next three to five years”.
In addition, only 13% of organisations
believe that they are very capable of identifying individuals with specific expertise
within the organisation (IBM, 2008).
Lack of integration within the HR function greatly impedes the possibility of creating and implementing a coherent global
talent strategy. Even within HR processes
such as global mobility management, many
organisations still find it a challenge to effectively link and align the various elements
required for the efficient management of its
expatriate population, as responsibility for
the component parts often resides in different parts of the business.
Effective global mobility management
requires co-operation between the business
unit leaders, talent management, compensation and benefits, process and communication, third-party providers (including
outsourcing) and, of course, the employee
and his/her family (Mercer, 2010).
The Global Mobility field has become
increasingly complex due to the emergence
of an array of international assignment
types (long-term assignments, short-term
assignments, developmental assignments,
project assignments, inter-regional assignments, commuter assignments, rotational
assignments etc.). Assignment types are
often governed by separate policy documents and they have separate compensation models to regular local employment
in locations. However, depending on the
maturity of an organisation’s overall talent strategy, the act of sending employees
abroad on international assignments still in
many ways remain simply a way to “get a
butt in the seat”, rather than an integrated
sub-process to an organisation’s overall

Global Talent Mobility
global talent management strategy put
in place to ensure that the right talent is
indeed selected for the right international
assignment opportunity.
Many international assignments are
thus still filled in an ad-hoc fashion,
but implementing appropriate linkages
between assignment selection and overall organisational talent review and succession planning processes could help to
ensure that the right candidate with the
right skills is offered the right international assignments at the right time.
An area that needs further development
and sophistication in many MNEs is the
initial assessment and selection phase of
potential international assignees. For this
to occur, better internal HR coordination
and collaboration is required and a close
cooperative relationship needs to be established with the business. More sophisticated assessment and selection processes
in conjunction with better defined international assignment objectives would also
result in a better fit between the role to be
filled and the selected candidate.
Unclear expectations of an incumbent
in an expat position will inevitably make
it hard to identify what the key skills and
competencies of a potential incumbent
should be. In many organisations the
selection process also needs to expand
to include both the potential assignee
and any accompanying family members.
Organisations also need to look into how
they can best fulfill the differing needs of
international assignees. One-size-fits-all
global mobility processes have a hard time
appropriately addressing the diverse needs
of assignees across assignment types and
family situations.
However, it also needs to be stressed
that there is of course much more to
global talent mobility than the management of international assignments, which
makes the process of developing an appropriate global talent management strategy
tailored to an organisation’s particular
needs an even more complex undertaking. At the societal level, mobility of talent
takes many forms, including movement
of employees within and across organisations as well as migration of people within
and across sectors and regions of the global economy. It also encompasses organisational investments in the development
of required skills and knowledge and
decisions on where to locate future jobs
(World Economic Forum, 2012).
Addressing global talent management
aspects on this societal level requires

organisations to reach out and establish
necessary relationships with new types of
stakeholders.

Global Talent Mobility - What
Is Stopping Us?
I would like to offer up the following
reasons why organisations continue to
struggle with implementing effective
global talent mobility: lack of ambition,
lack of buy-in, lack of ownership, lack of
collaboration, and lack of situational (and
organisational) adaptation.
Several studies have indicated that there
in fact is a lack of ambition among organisations, and among HR professionals in
general, to build the necessary capabilities
to be able to work strategically and collaboratively with global talent management.
As long as a few talent management initiatives and/or a written policy document
or two exists, for instance regarding senior leadership development, it is in many
organisations belief that strategic talent
management can be ticked off the organisational to-do-list. The ambition level
however, needs to be raised significantly if
we are to bring about real change.
There seems to be a lack of buy-in, especially at higher leadership levels, regarding
the necessity of a coherent global talent
management strategy within the organisations which often results in sub-optimisation as some aspects of talent management receive a lot of attention while other
aspects simply are not addressed at all.
Corporate HR functions need to build
a stronger business case outlining how global talent mobility transformation will add
value, and get better equipped to discuss
with business leaders which type of global
talent mobility approach would best suit
the specific needs of their organisation. The
HR professional's role is changing and new
types of skills and abilities will be required
to act as internal talent leaders.
Even in cases where a global talent
management strategy has been developed and a decision regarding worldwide implementation has been taken,
the roll-out phase often suffers from
a severe case of “it’s not my job” attitude. Such lack of ownership makes it
extremely difficult to bring about sustainable change within any organisation. Business leaders look to the Corporate HR function to ‘just do it’ and HR
professional's in turn struggle to gain the
breadth of knowledge and insight into
business reality that is needed to develop a
global talent management approach that

builds upon an already existing alignment
between the organisation’s HR and business strategies.
Lack of collaboration within the HR
function, or between different departments or business units of the same global
organisation, effectively hinders successful
strategic global talent management. Successful development and implementation
requires the active involvement of a wide
variety of internal and external stakeholders that are willing to engage in new ways
of collaborating across departments and
regional boundaries. While ‘divided we
stand’ remains the status quo within Corporate HR functions, we will continue to
see a business reality where there is insufficient collaboration and internal alignment between HR professionals working
with talent management issues regarding
recruitment, performance management,
succession planning or international assignments. The end result of such internal misalignment is often a parallel development
of competing HR initiatives rather than
collaboration towards a common goal.
In general there also seems to be a lack
of situational adaptation of strategic global talent management approaches. Stahl
et al. (2007, 2012) emphasise the importance of the alignment of talent management practices and activities with the
internal and external environment of the
organisation. ‘Practices are only “best” in
the context for which they were designed’
(Stahl et al. 2012, p. 26). The question
is whether organisations in general have
sufficiently mapped out the current and
future talent needs of their own organisation before trying to implement a “onesize-fits-all” talent management solution.
International HR professionals now
need to decide what future role they want
to play as talent leaders within their organisations – remain modest and marginal, or
become significant and strategic?

Modest and Marginal
The current role of the HR function is
overall both modest and marginal when
it comes to strategic talent management
today. HR professionals express little
interest or ambition to move outside of
their comfort zone, which is a must in
order to create the necessary internal and
external relationships needed to be an
effective strategic business partner. HR
professionals need to actively seek support from their employers to gain further
insight regarding business strategy in
order to ensure that the HR strategy really
Summer International HR Adviser

11

12

Global Talent Mobility
takes its starting point in the organisation’s
business strategy and actively supports the
organisation’s vision of what it wants to be
able to accomplish from both in a shortterm and a long-term perspective.
If HR professionals do not demand
their place in strategic discussions regarding strategic global talent management,
they might as well have been ‘benched’
for the rest of the game.

Significant and Strategic
The aim of a successful global talent
management strategy should be that it
offers a global platform developed according to your organisation’s needs which
allows your organisation to segment its
global workforce populations and enables
the organisation to differentiate its talent
management processes and tools according to diverse needs.
Becoming significant and strategic
is all about HR professionals applying
enhanced skills regarding active listening and timely response to developments
within the field of strategic global talent
management. The saying ‘if there is a will,
there is a way’ certainly holds true here.
Unless HR professionals in fact show an
active interest in business strategy and
a willingness to be the one to reach out
and initiate the necessary conversations
with business leaders, I have a feeling that
within ten years from now we will still be
discussing missed opportunities and lack
of strategic global talent management
maturity within organisations.

Global Talent Mobility A Window of Opportunity
So why should we care about Global
Talent Mobility? Organisations seem
to be doing okay whether or not they
have implemented state-of-the-art strategic talent management practices. My
answer would be that handling global
talent mobility appropriately makes
good business sense in more and more
types of organisations.
Multinational enterprises need to have
a strategic plan for how to handle global
talent mobility, because otherwise they
will simply not succeed in attracting,
developing and retaining the right mix of
talent they need to support future business growth. Traditional talent channels
are ‘drying up’ and organisations need
to identify new and innovative ways to
ensure that the right talent is put in the
right position at the right time. In order
to create a strong value proposition to
International HR Adviser Summer

business leaders, integration and
collaboration will need to be core guiding
principles within every HR function.
Global talent mobility can in addition,
no longer be seen as something that only
matters for multinational enterprises with
worldwide operations. As the use of an
ever increasing range of information and
communication technologies (ICT) continues to help expand the global reach
of small and medium-sized niche companies worldwide, the traditional view
that organisations internationalise or “go
global” in an incremental fashion is no
longer valid.
Smaller, entrepreneurial organisations
that are in fact global from the very start
are growing in numbers worldwide. Many
of these fast growing companies have an
immature HR function (if they have one
at all) and in fact often grow organically
utilising social networking and informal
headhunting to begin with. The global
economy has created a need to handle
diversified global talent mobility regardless of the stage of organisational (and HR)
maturity across all types of organisations.
This means that global talent mobility all
too often is handled in an ad-hoc fashion
rather than professionally through a structured and strategic approach.

Moving forward – one step at
the time
My advice would be to break down the
seemingly gigantic undertaking that is
strategic talent management into manageable pieces. The first step as an International HR professional would be to familiarise myself with my organisation’s business strategy. Do I really understand what
the business strategy in fact will require of
the HR function and me as an HR professional? If not, is there someone I can turn
to in order to get that clarified? Once that
direction is set, then it is time for the second step that involves self-reflection both
at the level of the HR function and at the
level of each HR professional. What are
our/my own strengths and weaknesses in
the talent management field and how can
we/I best address them? Finally, knowing what needs to be done, the next step
would be to identify the internal and
external stakeholders that can help us/me
realise the vision of becoming a significant
and strategic partner regarding global talent mobility.
All HR professionals wishing to be
significant and strategic should as soon
as possible initiate the conversation with

Seven Myths Of Global Talent
Management
After a group of McKinsey consultants
proclaimed a “War for Talent” in the late
1990s, “talent management” became
one of the most common terms in the
managerial lexicon. Initially, the war for
talent was driven by intense competition among leading US organisations to
attract key talent, as demand for talent
far exceed its availability due to demographic trends. While the demographics in key emerging economies, such as
China and India, may be more favourable, organisations in such countries face
similar challenges related to the availability of talent with the skill sets that
organisations require. Therefore, the
focus is again on labour quality.
In the European context, a study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group
identified talent management as one of the
five key challenges facing human resources
(HR) during the last decade (Boston
Consulting Group, 2007). Notably, talent
management was the one challenge that
the surveyed executives felt least prepared
to handle. The challenge is even more
extreme for multinational corporations
(MNC) as many of those are struggling to
effectively manage talent globally.
We believe that the challenges associated
with global talent management (GTM)
are related to the fact that GTM is poorly
defined. In addition, we contend that a
number of key myths regarding talent
management have the potential to undermine talent management’s contribution to
MNC effectiveness and to retard the development of management practice. Therefore, our aim is to unpack some of those
myths and present some ideas for advancing the practice of talent management.

Myth 1: Talent Management
is not an HR responsibility
A survey of CEOs in the European context finds that most CEOs feel that talent management is “too important to be
left to HR alone” (Economist Intelligence
Unit, 2006). Furthermore, the majority
of those CEOs surveyed report that they
spend more than 20% of their time on
these issues. Former Senior Vice President
of GE, Bill Conaty, argues that the first
principle of mastering talent management
is ensuring the support of an enlightened
International HR Adviser Summer

leadership team, starting with the CEO,
as “the enlightened CEO recognises that
his top priority for the future is building
and deploying the talent that will get it
there”. As Murray Dalziel, Group Managing Director of Hay Group, explains:
“These issues aren’t HR issues anymore.
They are line management issues. There’s
been a profound shift”.
Although we do not doubt the critical
roles played by the CEO and other senior
leaders in setting the tone for talent management within the organisation, we argue
that corporate HR should retain a central
role in GTM. Talent management initiatives should be aligned and integrated with
other HRM systems, policies and practices
implemented in different units of MNCs.
GTM should become a joint responsibility
of top management and corporate HR, as
it is owned by management but governed
by HR.
How exactly can HR govern GTM? We
argue that it should be done via the use of a
differentiated HR architecture. In this case,
the selected group of employees included
in the GTM pool are managed on a differentiated basis, while other employees
remain outside the talent system. However,
there must be enough fluidity within the
system to enable emerging talent to gain
entry to the differentiated architecture and
those who perform poorly to be removed
from the differentiated architecture.

Myth 2. It is all about people
Central to much of the early thinking about talent management was the
idea that talented people were critical to
organisational performance and success.
However, organisations that place too
much emphasis on attracting the “best”
may fail to think strategically about how
that talent can best be deployed in the
organisation.
We argue that the focus of GTM should
switch from evaluating the importance of
jobs based on the inputs required to handle
those jobs (such as qualification or experience) to evaluating the importance of jobs
based on the potential outputs from the
job combined with the potential for differential performance within the job’s role.
The focus of the differentiated architecture
should be on the human-capital attributes

required for resourcing A-level positions,
which are strategic positions. These positions: (1) relate to company strategy and
have a direct impact on the effectiveness
of strategic implementation, (2) exhibit
high variability in the quality of the work
carried out by the people who occupy
them, and (3) require unique, firm-specific
know-how, tacit knowledge and industry
experience that cannot be easily found in
the external labour market.
A popular example that used in this connection is the one of Mickey Mouse vs.
Sweeper: in which of these two positions
improvement in job performance make
the biggest differences in the customer
satisfaction? As Boudreau and Ramstad
(2007) explain, the variation between bestperforming Mickey Mouse and the worstperforming Mickey Mouse is not that large
as the Mickey Mouse role has been engineered and standardised to the extent to
make errors virtually impossible. On the
other hand, a helpful street sweeper could
significantly change customer experience
from the whole Disney visit as sweepers are
the ones whom customers often contact
when they have questions or need help.

Myth 3. All positions should
be filled by “A players”
Closely linked to the preceding myth is
the opinion pervasive in the literature
that all positions should be filled with star
employees, or “A players”, and that “C
players” (consistently poor performers)
should be managed out of the organisation. This approach calls for talent to be
managed on the basis of performance,
with a resultant emphasis on forced performance distribution. Forced performance distributions, or “rank and yank”
systems, became pervasive after they were
pioneered by Jack Welch at GE. In such
systems, only a set percentage of employees (perhaps 20%) can be identified as top
talent, while the largest cohort (perhaps
70%) of employees makes up the core
group of average performers. A residual
group (perhaps 10%) of low performers
is targeted for development or termination. This approach results in the pursuit
of “top-grading”, or the filling of all positions with star performers.
While we agree that talent matters

GLOBAL TALENT MANAGEMENT
and that key talents might contribute
disproportionately more to organisational
performance, we suggest that all the positions do not require “A players”. Companies simply cannot afford to have “A
players” in all positions. Indeed, there is
a growing awareness that many organisations overinvest in non-strategic employees and fail to invest enough in strategic
ones. We argue that resources are wasted
when a star performer is in a position
with little potential for differentiation
between an average and a top performer.
Accordingly, we suggest that “A players”
should predominantly occupy strategic
positions, while their presence in nonstrategic could be smaller.
For example, in the airline industry,
people who negotiate landing rights,
with higher variability in their performance, and unique and often tacit industry
knowledge, are more critical to the success
of the firm than the pilots who are more
replaceable, as they are all well trained and
qualified (Evans, Pucik and Bjorkman,
2011). Consequently having a “B player”
in the strategic position of negotiator of
landing rights will result in loss of revenue
opportunities, while having a reliable, stable B-perfomer as a pilot may not necessarily be costly.
In this regard, the clear challenge for
MNCs is to ensure internal equity in the
global performance management and
rewards for “A players” in strategic positions regardless of their location. While
global companies such as Schlumberger,
Novartis and Microsoft are insistent on
strict global consistency in performance
evaluation and rewards, especially for
top performers, they also acknowledge
the need to vary appraisal and feedback
processes according to local cultures. Such
variation may be negatively perceived by
“A players” and create retention problems
for the MNC.
An even greater cultural challenge arises
when dealing with “C players” – those
whom the “top-grading” perspective suggests should be replaced. Along this line,
another remarkable story: In a speech
to Japanese industrialists, Jack Welch’s
remarks on leadership were frequently
interrupted by applause, but his advice
on how to deal with “C players” was met
with stony silence.

Myth 4. Talent is portable
This myth questions the “G” in GTM.
When organisations speak of GTM, their
discussions are generally premised on

the assumption that their internal talent
systems and markets operate on a global,
coordinated basis and that talent is portable. Consequently, relocating top talent
within MNCs will result in immediate
improvements in performance. However,
individuals are often reluctant to relocate
internationally, as such relocations disrupt family and personal lives, and many
individuals harbour some scepticism
regarding the potential career benefits of
a sojourn abroad.
Indeed, even when individuals who
are viewed as top talent choose to relocate internationally, there is no guarantee
that their high performance will be maintained in the foreign context. For example, technical competence is often emphasised in selection for an international role.
However, technical competence in the
home country is no guarantee of success
in an international role, where “softer”
skills and adaptability emerge as central
to performance. This demonstrates the
importance of effective selection systems
and effective cross-cultural preparation
for assignees and their families in advance
of their taking on international roles.
A star’s performance is not solely a function of individual capabilities. That performance also relies on a range of factors
and resources, some of which are clearly
firm specific and therefore lost when these
employees change employers. “The talent
myth assumes that people make organisations smart. More often than not, it is the
other way around”, writes Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker. Consequently,
when relocating top talent within MNCs,
GTM systems should strive to offer access
to social and physical contexts that are similar to those from which the talent comes.

Myth 5. Talent turnover
is always bad for the
organisation
Ever since the war for talent was declared,
firms have constantly promoted people
deemed “top talent”, moved them into
new jobs and trained them to be globally
mobile. These firms assume that it is only
a matter of time before their top-talent
assets cash in on their global experience
in the external labour market by joining
another organisation. Nevertheless, the
reality of the twenty-first century is that
employee mobility has become – and is
likely to remain – more pronounced.
Therefore, the crucial issues for MNCs
are determining when they should strive
to retain talent that is otherwise intent

on leaving and when to allow that talent
to leave quietly. If the position in question is clearly not strategic, the MNC
may wish to consider allowing talent to
leave the organisation – even when an “A
player” is leaving. In such cases, instead of
the old “war” mentality, which frames all
employee turnover as a win-lose scenario,
companies should adopt a more holistic
perspective by considering other implications of employee mobility.
To resolve the myth, attrition levels
should be monitored in terms of the quality, and roles of departing employees and
their destination organisations should
also be carefully monitored. As the effect
of an employee’s departure on turnover
may not be negative, expensive retention
efforts may be misguided. Instead, investments should focus on maintaining positive relationships with departing employees, as those relationships may benefit the
MNE in the future.

Myth 6. There is a clear line
of sight between GTM and
organisational performance
Some recent analyses by Ernst & Young
suggest that organisations that align talent management with business strategy
achieve a return on investment that is
20% higher over 5 years than competitors who do not. However, establishing
the cause and effect in this performance
link is exceptionally difficult because the
distance between the actual investment in
an individual HR practice, and organisational effectiveness, is significant.
Creating a line of sight between investments in talent management and corporate performance is therefore undoubtedly a key challenge for the HR function,
especially in MNCs. Many scholars suggested the use of data analytics to ensure
top talent’s productivity, engagement
and retention. However, particularly the
MNC context stresses the importance of
going beyond the numbers provided by
HR analytics to include qualitative measures of return on talent (ROT). For example, top managers articulate, nurture and
utilise values to achieve desired organisational goals more than ever before. In that
regard, top managers rely on global talents
that live the corporate values and bring
those values to every corner of the MNC.
Accordingly, a well-designed ROT measure could include a measure of whether
the key talents exhibit behaviours that
reinforce the values that are central to the
organisation’s core values and mission.
Summer International HR Adviser

Myth 7. Talent decisions are
“fair”
An assumption often pervades organisations that talent decisions are fair, as they
are based on performance management
systems that have been developed at
great expense in order to ensure consistency. In reality, talent management often
fails because top managers do not always
have accurate information or enough
time to collect and analyse info. Furthermore, they have limited cognitive
capabilities to make a judgement using
all pertinent information. The situation
is even more complicated in MNCs, as
there are at least three types of distance –
structural, geographical and social – that
limit managers to “good-enough” decisions rather than ideal ones. In MNCs,
it is important to recognise the limitations of systems and processes aimed at
standardising ratings of performance and
potential across the global organisation.
In reality, organisations must ensure that
talent decisions are based on a number
of different inputs, such as performance
reviews, 360 degree feedback, assessment
and development centres, and other culturally appropriate inputs. These should
be combined with talent discussion
forums in which senior leaders assess talent in a more qualitative way.

Conclusions and implications
While global talent management may
have entered the mainstream practitioner
context, a number of misguided myths
prevail. Our consideration of these myths
is in line with recent calls for the development of evidence-based HR, a call for the
inclusion of critical thinkers in the GTM
function. The following of fads and fashions, and the uncritical adoption of “best
practices” must take a back seat to critical
reflection and the evaluation of tools and
techniques to advance the GTM agenda.
This approach also has some practical
implications for those MNCs considering
investments in GTM. MNCs should:
1. Align their GTM with global strategy
2. Establish a differentiated architecture
for GTM
3. Differentiate among the strategic positions
4. Place 'A' players in strategic positions
International HR Adviser Summer

and establish policies for dealing with 'B'
and 'C' players for every strategic position
5. Review the role of the corporate HR
function in GTM. In this regard,
corporate HR should be responsible
for: (a) developing, implementation
and measuring the effects of GTM;
(b) balancing global and local talent
needs; and (c) making GTM a basis
for global employer branding through
differentiation.

Acknowledgement
We thank the participants of the Global
HR Seminars on Global Talent Management organised by Copenhagen Business School and Confederation of Danish Industries in December 2010. We
are especially grateful to Maria Pejter,
A.P. Møller- Mærsk for inspiration and
support. The full version of this paper is
published in the International Journal of
Human Resource Management, volume
24, issue 9.

Dana Minbaeva
is a Professor of Strategic and Global
Human Resource
Management at the
Department for Strategic Management
and Globalization, and the Head of
the Ph.D. school in Economics and
Management, Copenhagen Business School. Her research on strategic international HRM, knowledge
sharing and transfer in multinational
corporations has appeared in such
journals as Journal of International
Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Human Resource
Management, Human Resource
Management Review, Management
International Review, etc. Dana is on
Editorial Boards of Human Resource
Management and Human Resource
Management Journal. Previously, she
has taught in Kazakhstan, Russia,
Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan, and Finland
as well as having held visiting research
positions in the UK, Ireland, Australia
and Canada.
David Collings
is Professor of HRM
at Dublin City University, Ireland and
Visiting Professor of
HRM at King's College London where he
teaches on the International HR Academy. He is also the editor (joint) of the
Human Resource Management Journal and Irish Journal of Management.
David’s teaching focuses on human
resource management, international
human resource management, talent
management and international management. He has taught and delivered
executive education in the US, UK,
Iceland, France and Denmark. He
also actively consults with a number
of global organisations.

International HR Adviser
is pleased to announce our
Media Partnership with

Attend The Corporate Education & Learning Innovation Summit 2013
September 18-19, 2013 – Chicago, IL, United States of America
More information on the event can be found at
www.cross.americanleaders.com/CorpEdLearningInnovSummit

global taxation

17

Global Taxation Update
Belgium
Social Security Updates
There have been some important changes
in Belgian national legislation that will
impact international employment conditions. Furthermore, the scope of the European Regulations on the coordination of
social security schemes has been extended.
Limosa obligation for self-employed
suspended
Belgian law imposes the requirement of
prior notification when foreign employees, self-employed individuals and apprentices who are not subject to Belgian social
security come to work on a temporary or
part-time basis in Belgium. Exceptions
are available depending on the duration
or nature of the work in Belgium.
In 2009, the European Commission
informed Belgium that the requirement
of a prior declaration with such broad
scope appeared to be incompatible with
the freedom to provide services within the
EU. Failure to convince the Commission
that the measure was necessary to combat
social security fraud meant that the case
was brought before the European Court
of Justice (“ECJ”).
In its decision of 19 December 2012,
the ECJ confirmed the Commission’s
findings and declared that the administrative procedure and detailed information to be provided by the self-employed
individuals goes beyond what is necessary
to achieve the objectives and is therefore
deemed disproportionate.
The impact of the judgment is still to
be assessed. It seems that there is political
pressure to adhere to the Limosa notification and as a result the procedural and
administrative obligations will be adapted.
On the official Limosa website it is
stated that “the notification for selfemployed persons is temporarily no longer
compulsory. The absence of a declaration
does not give rise to any penalties. The
same applies for the control requirement
by the Belgian customer. The judgment is
of immediate application”.
Anti-abuse measure against secondment fraud
From 10 January 2013 a new measure
came into force to tackle abuse in relation
to the applicable social security regime.
The new provisions allow the Belgian

courts, social security institutions and social
inspectors to disregard an A1 form and
apply the Belgian social security legislation
from the first day of the abuse of the coordination rules. Abuse is defined as intentionally circumventing the application of the
Belgian social security scheme by incorrectly
applying the coordination rules.
There is however extensive case law by the
ECJ regarding the binding nature of the A1
form and the non-contestability of the form
by the national courts and social security
institutions, as long as it has not been withdrawn by the issuing authority. As a result,
the anti-abuse provisions are unlikely to be
deemed compatible with EU law.
Stricter application of the prohibition
of putting at disposal of personnel
In Belgium, in principle, employers are
not allowed to put employees at the disposal of another company (the user).
This strict prohibition had been moderated in the past and certain instructions
given by the user were allowed. Again,
within the framework of tackling social
security fraud, the definition of exercising employer’s authority has now been
restricted.
The receiving company is now only
allowed to give instructions regarding the
health and safety regulations applicable
in the company or instructions that are
explicitly detailed and described in a written agreement concluded between the
employer and the user. Furthermore, this
agreement cannot reduce the employer’s
authority and the practical execution of
the agreement must be in line with the
details as listed in the agreement.
When these regulations are not complied with, putting employees at the disposal of the user is forbidden. In such
cases, the user and the employee are considered to be bound by an employment
agreement of undefined duration. Both
the original employer and the user are
jointly liable for the social security contributions, the salary and any other benefit
included in the agreement. In addition,
criminal and administrative sanctions can
be imposed.
Taking into account this new provision
as well as the above described anti-abuse
measure, where there is an international
employment, it is important to have a
well structured written service agreement

and ensure the seconded employees are
in possession of the necessary A1 forms.
Failure to comply with these rules may
result in the application of the Belgian
social security.

The European Court of Justice
rules on the irrefutable
presumption of self-employed
activity for company directors
in Belgium
At present, Belgian law states that persons
designated as agents of a company or association which is liable to pay Belgian corporate income tax, or Belgian non-resident
income tax, shall be irrefutably presumed
to perform Belgium professional activities
as self-employed persons. This presumption had already been declared as unconstitutional by the Belgian court for company
directors living in Belgium. Foreign directors were still considered to exercise their
duties in Belgium so that Belgium could
levy social security contributions.
The ECJ was asked whether an EU
Member State may presume that the
“management from abroad of a company
which is liable to tax in that State” means
that the duties must be physically performed in that country.
In its ruling of 27 September 2012,
the ECJ ruled that the national legislation of a member state cannot determine
the place where an activity is carried out.
This is considered to be a matter for EU
law. The location of the activity is the
place where, in practical terms, the person concerned effectively carries out the
actions connected with that activity. The
practical consequence is that directors of
a Belgium company residing abroad cannot automatically be considered as exercising a self-employed activity in Belgium
and therefore be liable to Belgian selfemployed social security contributions.
It remains uncertain whether the Belgian legislation will be adapted and/or
whether the authorities will issue new
guidelines in this respect. Belgian companies with directors managing the company from abroad should be aware of this
new development as the judgment might
effectively impact the social security liability of their directors.
Additional social security benefit for
expatriates
Summer International HR Adviser

17

18

GLOBAL taxation
Belgium has a favourable tax regime for
highly qualified expatriates working
temporarily in Belgium whilst keeping
their economic, social, personal and
financial interests abroad. The expatriate
is taxed on his worldwide income but
the taxable amount is reduced by two
additional deductions: the deduction
for costs to the employer ("tax-free
allowances") and the "travel exclusion".
The tax free allowance is capped at EUR
11,250 per year for executives employed
in regular companies and at EUR 29,750
per year for executives employed in recognised headquarters or research and development centres. Both caps are accepted
by the National Social Security Office
(NSSO) as exempt from the social security calculation base.
At the end of 2012 the NSSO introduced a new policy (applicable as of January 2012) increasing the tax free allowance for social security purposes when
companies apply the so-called technical
note to executive expatriates employed in
regular companies (cap of EUR 11,250).
The NSSO office has increased the tax
free allowance to take into account the
effective Belgian presence however this is
capped at a maximum EUR 29,750.
BDO’s view
The Belgian authorities have long been
concerned by claims for exemption from
Belgian social security. The relatively
high level of contributions, particularly
for employers means that many would, if
given any choice, prefer to pay contributions in another EU country. Do expect
further disagreement between Belgium &
the EU on this issue.

Germany
The German Statutory Notice on
Employment Abroad – Infringement
upon Freedom to Provide Services
According to the German Statutory Notice
on Employment Abroad, wages paid by a
German employer to employees who are
taxed on their worldwide income in Germany, or to employees who are non-resident taxpayers, are not subject to tax if the
wages are paid for privileged work abroad.
The employment abroad has to be
carried out without interruption for at
least three months in a country where no
double tax treaty regarding employment
income exists. A certificate issued by the
country abroad regarding the tax paid
in that country is not necessary for the
tax exemption in Germany. Therefore
International HR Adviser Summer

in certain circumstances the privileged
income remains completely untaxed.
The purpose of this exemption is for the
promotion of the German export economy.
On that basis the German Statutory Notice
on Employment Abroad is restricted to
income paid by German employers.
However, on 28 February 2013, the
European Court of Justice decided that
the restriction to German employers is
contradictory to the European law of freedom to provide services. Therefore, the
income of privileged employment abroad
will not be taxed if the state of residence
of the employee and the state of residence
of the employer are both member states of
the EU/EEA.
Therefore it is recommended that
employees apply for tax-exemption on
income that relates to all years that are not
irrevocably assessed. Either the employer
or the employee must request a certificate
of exemption from the local tax office
where the company is located. A wage tax
deduction will not occur in this case. If
the income tax has already been paid to
the tax authority, the employee should
apply for tax-exemption at his or her local
tax office of residence.

to remain subject to the domestic legal
provisions of the sending state for Social
Security purposes.
The Convention requires that insurance
periods which are completed in both contracting states have to be taken into account
in order to fulfill the conditions of an entitlement for a pension. The agreement
provides unrestricted pension payments in
the respective contracting state. Pension
amounts determined before the Convention on Social Security went into effect can
be reassessed on request if an amendment
is specifically required in respect of the provisions within the agreement. Pensioners
cannot be treated less favourably as a consequence of such a reassessment.

BDO’s view
Tax authorities within individual EU
member states do need to be fully cognizant that national laws will be challenged
if not compliant with EU law.

Netherlands

Germany and Brazil
Convention on Social Security between
Germany and Brazil
The German-Brazilian Convention on
Social Security came into force on 1 May
2013. This agreement is relevant to companies and employees located in one of
the contracting states, most notably, in
the context of extending and increasing
foreign economic relations between Germany and Brazil.
The purpose of this convention is to
avoid a double social insurance liability
while employees are working within the
respective contracting state for a limited
time-period of 24 months or less. The
regulations of the Convention on Social
Security affect statutory pension insurance, accident insurance and unemployment insurance. The corresponding social
security provisions of the sending state
remain applicable for the employer and
employee. In the case of a deployment
for a period of more than 24 months,
the employee can apply for an exemption

BDO’s view
Do expect further social security agreements as global trade expands. The
number of social security agreements
lags significantly behind double taxation agreements but social security can
be a significant cost for employees and
employers. Additionally, expect further
agreements involving Brazil as its economy and international influence continues to expand.
Employment tax for higher income
individuals
In the 2013 Dutch Budget, agreement
measures were taken in respect of the
economic crisis in the Netherlands. One
of these measures is the introduction
of employment tax of 16% payable by
employers for higher income employees.
As a result, for wage tax returns submitted for the period to March 2013 a tax of
16% should have been paid to the Dutch
tax authorities by every employer for
employees with taxable income in 2012
exceeding EUR 150,000. This tax is payable in addition to the regular monthly
employment tax amounts for 2012 which
had already been paid to the Dutch tax
authorities. This tax cannot be reclaimed
from the employee.
The same rules may be applied in
2014 in relation to employment income
received during 2013. Please note that
this employment tax may not be in line
with EU-regulation, based on a recent
court case as set out below:
Court Case
On 12 February 2013 the court in
Arnhem decided in a similar tax
case regarding exceptional severance

global taxation
payments that this legislation had been
in force retro-actively to the beginning
of a tax year. This is not in line with the
EU-regulation according to the point of view
of the Court (Article 1 of the First Protocol
to the European Convention on Human
Rights) as the amount of taxes due
regarding this income was not foreseeable
at the moment the income was earned. In
other words, the income will be taken into
account as taxable income even though
this income has been earned before the
regulation has been in force.
It is expected that the Dutch tax authorities will appeal against this decision however, it is necessary to wait for the decision
of the Supreme Court.
BDO’s view
It is clear that adverse economic circumstances are driving tax authorities to seek
additional taxes. Legal challenges are
likely where income raising measures contravene national/EU regulations or are
poorly drafted.

Singapore
Personal tax rebate
For the 2013 tax year only, a personal

income tax rebate of up to SGD 1,500
will be granted to Singapore resident
individuals. The rebate will be 30% for
individuals aged below 60, and 50% for
individuals aged 60 and above.
Accommodation benefit
Tax on the benefit of housing accommodation provided to employees will
be increased from 2015. The tax charge
will be based on the annual value of the
premises, less rent paid by the employee,
and the taxable value of furniture and fittings will be based on a percentage of the
annual value of the housing accommodation. The taxable value of hotel accommodation will be the actual cost of the hotel
stay benefit provided to the employee.
The IRAS will provide further details by
October 2013.
BDO’s view
It is pleasing to see tax authorities rebating surplus funds/taxes to individuals!
Employer provided accommodation
has long been tax efficient in comparison
with cash allowances. It will be interesting to see to what extent this advantage
will be eroded.

Andrew Bailey is national head of
human capital at BDO LLP. He has
over 30 years’ experience in the field
of expatriate taxation. BDO is able to
provide global assistance for all your
international assignments. If you would
like to discuss any of the issues raised
in this article or any other expatriate
matters, please do not hesitate to contact
Andrew Bailey on
+44 (0) 20 7893 2946,
email Andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk

Summer International HR Adviser

19

Expatriate Adviser Summer

Autumn International HR Adviser

international assignment policies

21

Mobilising Talent - The Global
Mobility Challenge
Our recent two articles have focused
on international assignment policies –
the best policy for your company and
the different types of assignment. This
article continues the theme.
Let’s assume you now have an outline
policy for your assignees and you are fully
aware of the different types of assignments
available. Your approach and procedures
are known and you now want to be able
to utilise your employees in different locations – will they move where you want
them? What’s their view and how do you
incentivise your employees to move?

Mobilising Talent – The Global
Mobility Challenge – report ascertaining views
Most surveys seek the views of the
employer regarding mobility and the barriers or incentives facing the business. An
alternative, relatively novel approach, is
to ask the employees – would they move,
where do they want to go, and what
would encourage them to do so?
This article is based on a report written
by Ipsos on the findings from the 2012
Employee Mobility study, conducted by
Ipsos on behalf of the Canadian Employee
Relocation Council. In 2012, Ipsos partnered with the Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC) to launch a tracking study about employee mobility.
The global poll is co-sponsored by
BDO. The survey was conducted in 24
countries around the world with approximately 18,500 respondents every month.

The need for international
assignees
In today’s global marketplace there is a
continuing and in some cases an increasing
need to be able to move individual
employees to different countries. Naturally
most people will move if they are offered
enough money to do so, but the business
and economic climate prevailing does
not permit organisations to throw money
at potential assignees. Whilst it may
help matters, increasing an employee’s
compensation is often not the incentive
required to encourage an individual to
agree to an international work assignment.
Historically, the main concern for the
employer has been the cost of moving an

employee abroad. It has been often stated
that the costs of utilising an assignee is
between two to five times the costs of a
local hire. With additional issues ranging
from reconciling tax and payroll issues, to
compensation incentives and assignment
structuring, the survey reveals that understanding employee sentiment may help
alleviate some employer concerns and
encourage the right employee to make the
move, whilst potentially saving money.
Incentives such as a pre-assignment
visit, additional home leave, and language training together with immigration assistance for the assignees partner,
can often entice an employee to move
abroad. These incentives that employers can offer may actually reduce the cost
of international relocation to the company, increase the return on investment
and make for a much happier and more
productive employee. Knowing what
drives employee behaviour is the only way
for an employer to effectively determine
what those alternative incentives may be.
By focusing on what people are looking
for businesses will be able to make better
decisions regarding their international
and expatriate policies.
Relocation is an investment in the
employee and it is important that
assignees are as effective as possible from
the outset of their assignment. If the
right compensation package and support
structure is present employers will get the
best return.

Top five incentives for
employees to be more likely
to take an international
assignment
The survey showed that the top 5
incentives to encourage mobility by
ranking were: (see figure 1).

Fear of the unknown is clearly impacting
employees’ willingness to work abroad,
from language barriers to job security after
taking an international assignment. The
retention of international assignees, post
assignment has long been an issue facing
employers. The number of assignees who
either have no position to return to or leave
shortly after an international assignee is
significant. In more buoyant economic
times many employees have no fear for
their position or future post assignment.
They are confident that their enhanced
skill set and experiences will benefit
businesses that are thriving and most would
see a return to their old job/position as a
distinct backward step. When economic
times are difficult, job security and what
the future may hold becomes of far greater
significance. Job security naturally features
very highly today given general economic
woes but how many employers could
realistically offer a former assignee their
previous position on their eventual return
from assignment?

Finding common ground
The survey finds that employees from
every geographic location overwhelmingly
selected English speaking countries as
their desired work relocation destination,
with the United States (34%) ranking
first, followed by the United Kingdom
(22%), Canada (20%) and Australia
(20%).
Assignees clearly want to understand
more about the destination location – preassignment visits - and wish to enhance their
ability to fit in by being able to speak the
local language and have their partner work
in that location. With the English language
being a common language in which to converse wherever an individual is in the world
arguably this just further drives the numbers

Figure 1

Summer International HR Adviser

21

22

international assignment policies
of assignees wishing or being able to move
to English speaking countries.

Global willingness to move
Willingness to take a foreign work assignment is not the same around the globe.
There are certain geographic locations that
have a concentration of employees who are
eager to work abroad. The survey shows
that employees from Latin America (34
per cent) and the Middle East and Africa
(32%) are the most likely to relocate internationally for work. However, employees
who say they are very likely to take the
assignment are significantly less in Asia
Pacific (24%), Europe (21%) and North
America (20%). Perhaps some individuals see better economic opportunities elsewhere, whereas others may have stronger
family or cultural/regional ties and wish to
remain in their home location. Additionally, the issue of dual careers may be more
prevalent in Europe & North America
where the barriers to mobility that this
creates may often just be too significant to
overcome.
Not all employees are resistant to an international work assignment. Not surprisingly,
the survey finds that there is a group of
people who are eager to take foreign work
assignments. This demographic consists of
a mixed group, which includes senior executives/decision makers (30%), people under
the age of thirty-five (28%), men (27%),
low income earners (27%) and those who
are not married (27%). Again, the existence of dual careers and the career progress/
income of the non assigned partner is a barrier as is the existence of children of school
age – meeting the needs of the family is
essential – and where neither of these two
factors needs to be addressed individuals are
typically more inclined to move.
Employees in different industries show
a varied amount of eagerness to work
aboard. People working in telecommunications and information technology (28%) and construction (28%) are
most disposed to consider an international move for work, while only 25% of
employees in commercial/retail and 23%
of employees in education and medical
sectors are very likely to consider international work relocation. There appears to
be no significant percentage differences
based on industry sector.
Despite industry or sector, companies
need to be flexible in their approach to
dealing with specific individuals, as well
as put in place broad HR policies that
address employee concerns.
International HR Adviser Summer

Summary
The above comments provide a general
overview of the report and the thoughts
of employees about the possibility of
an assignment. Addressing employees’
requirements and perspectives and blending these with the needs of the business
helps to shape and direct an employers’
policy. An amalgamation of employers
and employees views and requirements is
likely to result in the best policy.
Do remember that policies should not be
static documents. Business entities change

as does the economic and political climate
in individual countries or regions.
Andrew Bailey is global leader for
BDO International’s expatriate tax
services and national head of human
capital at BDO LLP. He has over 30
years’ experience in the field of expatriate taxation. If you would like to
discuss any of the issues raised in this
article or any other expatriate matters, please do not hesitate to contact
Andrew Bailey on
+44 (0) 20 7893 2946, email
Andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk

Autumnâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; International HR Adviser

24

Cross-Cultural Experiences

Ensuring Strategic Impact And
Protecting Your Investment
Protecting your investment
You would not put a key person into a
new job or an important negotiation
without the context, the ‘rules of the
game’, or the necessary preparation,
skills, and knowledge. It wouldn’t make
business sense. It could be detrimental to
both the organisation and the individual.
Yet we often do this with expatriates or
those on overseas assignments.
We put people into a country they know
nothing about, a culture that may have
values very different from their own, with
attitudes and etiquettes that elude them.
They may arrive ignorant of the local
norms and ways of doing business, without
knowledge of the language, or appreciation
of the importance of relationships or
hierarchies or whatever is central to that
culture. And we are surprised that there are
difficulties, or the work stalls, or that the
assignment fails with deep personal trauma
and at great cost to the organisation. So,
when sending your staff overseas, you need
to protect your investment if they are to
have strategic impact.

Avoiding an expensive faux pas
I had started an assignment in Angola.
All seemed to be going well when,
unexpectedly my opposite number
on the project (a senior state company
manager), objected to an action I’d been
pursuing and raised it with the Chairman.
Suddenly the whole $6m project was at
risk. I found out that my ‘management
by objectives’ and task-driven approach to
get things done had inadvertently caused
my Angolan colleague to lose face, and
that I had subverted the hierarchy by my
active networking up, down and across the
organisational structure. I had to apologise,
backtrack, rebuild bridges, and invoke
senior management support – it was hard
work restoring the damaged relationship.
So, it is not enough to be well
meaning and simply apply a standard
western approach, expecting everyone
else to just do it your way. We have to
understand the ways that things may be
done differently, find out how we can
adapt our approach as well as getting
tasks completed, and discover a modus
operandi that is acceptable and works in
that organisational and cultural setting.
International HR Adviser Summer

Recognising power structures
Cultures have different attitudes to
hierarchy, position and status. Many
are more hierarchical than our own,
where those at the top are very much
in charge, and who you know and have
a relationship with is very important.
And often the line between personal and
business matters is more blurred than we
are used to. Where hierarchy is important,
it is key to acknowledge status and titles,
roles and responsibilities, power lines
in the organisation (often vertical),
approvals and permission. Such cultures
require respect to be given appropriately,
sometimes through gestures such as
eye contact, through addressing senior
people first, and ensuring appropriate
protocols are followed. Undertaking a
speech to launch a project in South Sudan
at which the Vice President was present
meant I had to take advice on how to
address His Excellency and other senior
figures in the audience. Clearly, showing
appropriate respect is crucial if you are to
achieve clarity and goodwill rather than
misunderstanding and offence.

Communicating and building
relationships
When I arrived as an expatriate in South
Africa, I sent out an email to my new
network across thirteen African countries
requiring urgent action. There was not
one response. I followed up with an even
more urgent request, which achieved the
same result; electronic silence. A similar
communication at my base in the UK
would have been responded to almost
immediately. On consultation with my
boss, she asked ‘Have you met any of them,
or spoken to them on the telephone?’ I
replied, ‘No, I’ve not had the time.’ She
advised, ‘That’s what you need to do.’
I quickly learnt that in such cultures,
people do not deal with those who they
don’t know, and that where possible I
had to meet people face-to-face first, that
I had to invest some time in getting to
know them before I could expect them to
respond to my urgent requests. Learning
how things get down in a particular
setting and what forms of communication
work best is fundamental.
Communicating well across cultures

means recognising when ‘yes’ actually means
‘no’ and finding another way to get accurate
information. It is understanding that in
some cultures forming and maintaining
relationships is viewed as more important
than undertaking tasks, and in fact is the
only way of getting tasks done.

Managing expectations and
time
When I saw the tight project plan that
my western based organisation had put in
place, I was sceptical. I knew they hadn’t
left enough time for the key decisions
that would have to be made within the
partner state organisation in Angola,
where many decisions had to be pushed
right to the top, in this case the country’s
President. Learning from the frustrations
I had experienced with the project I was
running – everything took longer, logistics
were more difficult than at home, skill
levels more varied – I realised that I had
to build in more time, contingency time,
in the schedule since people’s view of time
here was more flexible than my own, and
the unexpected frequently happens in
developing country contexts.

Dealing with awkward
requests
On more than one occasion, there were
requests (quietly made) to divert project
funds. ‘I would like us to use some of
the project fund to make a trip to…’ was
one such approach, where the intended
excursion had no relevance to the work.
To say ‘no’ directly can cause offence or
damage a key relationship. But to say
‘yes’, if it’s a questionable or corrupt
practice, is not tenable. On this occasion
the response was, ‘Let’s discuss at the next
Steering Committee meeting’ which met
monthly and where project and financial
issues were debated openly by all the
partners. The request went away. In such
situations, the solid and transparent
processes of your organisation and its
values can help you deliver a reasonable
and ethically defendable response.

Showing respect and avoiding
offence
Acting disrespectfully and causing offence,
even if done unintentionally, can disrupt or

Cross-Cultural Experiences
damage business. This can be caused simply
by being ignorant of customs or protocols –
actions that may be seen as inconsequential
or harmless in your own culture, may be
a big issue elsewhere. For example, a few
years back I was preparing to run some
training in Sharjah, a conservative emirate
of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The
organiser advised me; ‘Be careful with
contact and whatever you do, do not shake
hands with the women.’ I needed to be
mindful of unspoken rules about physical
contact, of gender relations, and also of
religious needs such as time for people to
pray. Such situations do not require us to
change our own values, but rather to adjust
our behaviour out of respect for the values
of others and to avoid causing offence.

Transferring skills and
knowledge
An important role of many expatriates
or assignees is to transfer skills and
knowledge to local staff – to coach them.
But comments I have often heard from
such expatriate coaches are: ‘It’s just
quicker to do it myself.’ ‘The person
I allocated the task did not deliver.’ ‘I
don’t know if they really understood,’
‘He took offence when I gave him some
constructive feedback.’
Being an experienced technical expert
is not enough; coaching across cultures
requires skills where you are able to
transfer knowledge clearly without
belittling the other person and in an
appropriate style to that culture. You have
to check understanding in ways that get an
honest answer, to tease out the real issues
or difficulties without making someone
lose face. And when you give feedback, it
has to be done very sensitively, mindful of
the on-going relationship.

Staying safe and healthy
The site manager, upon my arrival in a
remote part of South Sudan, gave me my
induction/security briefing: ‘You’ll need a
torch at night because of the snakes, zip
the tent door up and sleep under the net if
you don’t want to be eaten by mosquitoes,
don’t touch the dogs as three local people
have died of rabies this month, beware
travelling on the roads because of bandits,
take care in the bush due to landmines…’
Leaving the compound for some exercise
the following morning, I was perturbed
when chased off the path by a dog!
Your arrival in a new country or a new
setting is when you are most vulnerable
– it requires someone with good local

knowledge to show you what’s safe and to
introduce you to the ‘rules of the game’ as
quickly as possible. Then you can stay safe
and healthy. Organisations have a duty of
care to ensure such induction and support.

Preparing and supporting
So what can your organisations do
to help your expatriates and oversees
assignees become culturally fluent as
quickly as possible?
Firstly, prepare them adequately through
cultural awareness, language training,
country knowledge, and cross-cultural
communication skills. The aim is to equip
your expatriates with at least some of the
cultural knowledge and skills they will
need. Promote positive, open and curious
attitudes to other cultures, and encourage
(even select) people who are flexible,
adaptable and resilient.
Secondly, provide on-going support,
such as management and HR support from
the home base and locally, and the advice
of local managers and other expatriates/
assignees in country.
Doing the above will help your
expatriates avoid faux pas, build
relationships and communicate clearly,
show respect to power structures and
culture, coach others effectively, and stay
safe and healthy. Ultimately, you will
help ensure their strategic impact for your
organisation, and protect your investment.
Peter Curran
Peter Curran is a Training
Consultant who works
with Farnham Castle and
organisations worldwide
to enhance management
skills and support leadership and HR teams to achieve organisational goals. Peter has over twenty years
of experience with a multinational energy
company, having undertaken Technical, Project, HR and Training roles. His
last corporate job was as Learning and
Development Manager for Africa, during
which time he lived with his family as an
expatriate in South Africa.
Peter has spent the last ten years working as a consultant mostly in developing countries such as Angola, Kenya,
Ethiopia and South Sudan, with other
projects in Asia, the Middle East and
Europe. He consults with commercial,
development and public sector organisations on capacity building, management and HR practices. He works
alongside expatriate and national staff
to enhance skills and performance,
improve communication across cultures, and contribute to organisational
and country development.
www.farnhamcastletraining.com

Save The Date

Monday 3rd
February 2014

The 2014
Corporate
Relocation
Conference
& Exhibition
will be held at
Hotel Russell, Russell
Square, Bloomsbury,
London
Please put the date in
your diary as this free
one-day conference &
exhibition is a must for
all those involved in
Global Mobility.
There will be six free
seminars and over
35 companies and
organisations with
products and services
to help you in your role
of International HR
Management.

For further information
please email:
helen@internationalhradviser.com

Summer International HR Adviser

25

26

Keeping calm in a crisis

Keeping Calm In A Crisis
For those of us old enough to remember
the television series Dad’s Army –
“Don’t panic Mr Mannering” was one
of Spike’s main lines – and one of my
favourites! But how do we keep calm
in a crisis? And how do we deal with the
stressful things that come our way?
Stress is a tricky thing – it means different things to different people. And
what is motivating to one person can be
stressful to someone else. Put simply,
stress is an emotional reaction to physical, psychological or emotional demands
that are placed on us, and is often visible
in the world of global mobility, both for
the families relocating and those managing challenging assignments.
There are so many symptoms for stress –
if you did a search on the internet you would
get quite a long list – physical symptoms,
behavioural, emotional and cognitive.
Symptoms can include increased irritability, severe mood changes, lack of concentration, black and white thinking, difficulty making decisions, being argumentative, losing your temper quickly, feeling
overwhelmed, catching frequent colds or
illnesses, trouble sleeping, tiredness, low
or depressed mood, lack of energy, headaches, muscle tension, trouble relaxing,
using stimulants such as alcohol to wind
down etc., etc., etc. The list goes on.

So what happens to us in
times of stress?
The stress response triggers adrenaline
in the body – it is what gets us going – it
stimulates the ‘fight, flight or freeze’ reaction in the body. Appropriate all those
years ago maybe when we were running
across the fields searching for food being
chased by a rather large animal - but not
so appropriate now.
It can actually lead us to do or say all
sorts of things as a reaction to what is
going on around us.
The stress response is basically there to
keep us safe – to protect us. To stir us into
an appropriate reaction.
If you feel like you might be
experiencing high levels of stress in
your life at the moment - the key is to
understand what stress feels like for you
– when things start to tip into overwhelm
or you are feeling a little bit out of control.
Understand what that feels like to you –
and the trick to that is getting out of your
International HR Adviser Summer

head and recognising the feelings in your
body. Not easily done when we spend so
much time in our heads – particularly if
you are in a very busy period in your life
with lots of demands being placed on you.
Recognise the symptoms and how you are
feeling. And recognise them before they
get to a level where it is all too much.
So if the stress response triggers adrenaline – it is adrenaline that gets us going
– it is adrenaline that gets and keeps us
motivated to do things.
So if we look at it a different way stress
is actually motivation!
Things only become stressful when we
exceed our personal capacity to be able
to cope.
So how do we learn how to cope? The
key to boosting our resilience levels is to
get regular exercise, have a healthy diet –
including drinking plenty of water – and
to keep our mind in a calm place! Here
are three quick tips…

1. Relax
Relaxation – some of us are good at it –
some of us not. I know several people
who just ‘don’t do’ relaxation.
It is an essential element in building up
our resilience levels and our capacity for
coping – for managing the stresses and
strains in our lives.
Finding yourself with nothing to do –
or an opportunity to sit quietly is a fantastic thing to experience. Out of sitting
in boredom – without things planned in
– can allow the space in our lives for new
things to enter.

2. Breathe
We all have to breathe – it’s what keeps
us alive! But surprise, surprise – most of
us don’t do it properly. Most of us keep
our breathing at the top of our chest – a
shallow breath. Particularly when we are
busy, anxious or just caught up in ‘stuff ’ –
we take shallow breaths.
Learning how to make full use of the
breath is an incredible way not only to
relax but also to boost your energy levels,
control your emotions and achieve a sense
of calm and peacefulness.
So try a different approach – try a
deeper breath and see how you feel –
experience the difference.
There are a few parts to this that build
up – give it a go:

Full belly breathing
Place your hands on your belly – now take
a deep breath in through the nose. As you
breathe in – feel your belly rise and as you
breathe out – through your mouth – your
belly will go back down.
By doing this you are opening up your
diaphragm – and allowing all your organs
to get a lovely stretch and loads more oxygen into the bargain! Which means an
increase in energy and vitality. Silly not
to really!
7:11 breathing
7:11 breathing is a great way to relax –
great to practice at all times – also great to
calm the nerves before a meeting, presentation, interview, or in a crisis!……
Breathe in for 7 and out for 11 – easy!
Find a count that is comfortable for you
– maybe in for 4 and out for 6 or 7 but
make sure that your out breathe is longer
than the in-breathe. Added benefits are
that counting distracts your mind away
from its problems! And by breathing out
for longer you will automatically induce
the relaxation response in your body –
your body will have no alternative than to
calm down.

3. Visualise
Many people don’t rate visualisation – but
many people do.
Most athletes and top sports people
are very open about how they practice
their events in their mind – how they
keep practicing – visualising – seeing
themselves doing well – getting better –
stronger – winning!
Visualisation is a great way to support
yourself in bringing things into reality
and coping with stress! Start by picturing what you want to achieve – then see
yourself achieving it.
Seeing yourself achieving things – even in
your minds eye – will boost your motivation
– your brain will record and recollect it – you
will be improving your belief in yourself.
Janice Haddon
has over 25 years’
experience in
strategic and
operational
Human Resources
and management
consultancy.

Autumnâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; International HR Adviser

28

GLOBAL MOBILITY SURVEY

Survey Shows Growth In
International Employee Transfers
Fuelled By "Emerging Markets"
The 2013 Global Mobility Survey, the
largest annual analysis of international
mobility programmes, reports
continued growth in the number of
international employee assignments
undertaken by international businesses
and their HR departments, and 41%
of businesses expecting the number
of international employee transfers to
increase in the coming year.
The study surveyed HR departments
and their employee mobility functions
in 1,273 companies across a range of
industry sectors in 70 countries.
The report found significantly more
growth in employee mobility programmes
that involved countries that are classed
as “emerging markets”, compared to
programmes relating to non-emerging
markets. In addition to this, International
HR Adviser can share the following
summary of some of the highlights from
the survey:

Growth drivers are changing
The results show a 30% net increase in the
number of organisations reporting that
they had grown their assignment activity
over the previous year (those reporting
increased activity less those reporting
decreased activity). These organisations
also expect this trend to continue in the
next 12 months. There are two drivers of
this growth:
• Emerging markets – more mobility
programmes managed from these
locations reported assignment growth
than in non-emerging markets
• Expansion – most of the organisations
experiencing growth put it down to
expanding operations within existing
markets (57%) or expanding into new
markets (52%).

The Rise and Rise of
Emerging Markets
‘Emerging’ markets is a term which many
find out-dated and potentially misleading.
There’s an argument that some ‘emerging’
markets have well and truly emerged.
Indeed, one-in-eight of those companies
International HR Adviser Summer

surveyed for this report are organisations
with programmes managed in an
‘emerging’ market. Far from following in
the wake of developed economies, these
organisations are leading the way and
becoming a key source of investment into
other emerging economies. However,
‘emerging markets’ is undoubtedly a useful
concept, especially if a relatively objective
definition such as that employed by the
IMF is adopted (based on GDP per capita,
diversification of industry and level of
economic integration). It’s also clear that
however we define these markets, they
continue to be the key driver of growth in
international mobility. Organisations are
continuing to expand into destinations

that would historically never have been
considered. It is therefore important that
organisations and their HR and mobility
teams understand the unique conditions
of each destination; infrastructure,
culture, politics and security. This
section of the survey looks in more detail
at changes in assignment destinations
and origins, which destinations pose
the greatest challenge and examines the
nature of these challenges. So is it true?
Are emerging markets really as important
as we’re led to believe? In short, yes.
Three quarters of companies say that
emerging markets are important to their
mobility programme; one third go so far as
to describe them as “very important.”
Emerging markets are both a source of
growth and beneficiaries of it too. 78%
of organisations report that emerging
markets are important for their upcoming
mobility plans with mainland China,
Brazil and India benefitting most from
this investment. Over the coming 12
months this pattern continues with
‘second tier’ cities in China set to become
the most targeted destinations. These
markets are not only the highest growth
locations, they are also felt to be the
most challenging. Cultural differences
need to be overcome (48% identify this
as a challenge), there are concerns about
security (45%), and the ‘state’ presents
a number of challenges – differences in
legislation (41%), complicated tax systems
(35%), and the political climate (33%).
Lack of local family related facilities was
also a notable trend.

Emerging Markets as
Destinations
Unsurprisingly, mainland China represents
the most significant destination globally
in terms of pure numbers. However, in
mobility terms, it helps to consider China
as a collection of micro markets. There is
a clear distinction between centres such
as Beijing and Shanghai that operate
sophisticated mobility programmes and
assignee populations. And those 2nd and
3rd tier centres which are still very much

GLOBAL MOBILITY SURVEY
assignment destinations and considered
as emerging economies.
As the original BRIC countries
continue to develop we expect these 2nd
and 3rd tier centres to become the next
hot destinations, these can be considered
‘Micro Emerging’ Markets. This trend
defines these centres as a focus for 2013.
Looking ahead, the Top 5 emerging
market destinations for the coming 12
months are China Mainland (2nd Tier)
19%, Brazil 14%, India 11%, China
Mainland 8% and Indonesia 5%.

Challenging Destinations
If we look at the assignment destinations felt
to present the greatest challenge, emerging
markets presented the greatest headaches
for HR and mobility departments. Within
these markets mainland China, India
and Brazil take a clear lead as the most
challenging assignments (as they did in
2012). The destinations felt to present
the greatest challenge reflect continued
expansion into emerging markets. China
(17%), India (10%) and Brazil (7%)
take a clear lead as the most challenging
destinations. But that’s not to say that
developed economies are necessarily any
easier. 6% name the USA as a challenging
assignment destination which is marginally
ahead of the proportion saying the same
about Russia (4%).
“The world is changing and its centre of
gravity is moving east. Today’s economic
powerhouses of India and China are
increasingly becoming headquarter
locations rather than the far-flung outposts
of yesteryear.” said Brian Friedman,
Founder and CEO of the Forum for
Expatriate Management.

Adapting Assignment
Packages
Results show that not all emerging markets
are classified as hardship locations, however,
all those identified as hardship locations are
emerging markets. Organisations operating
in hardship locations offer enhanced
assignment packages to meet the challenges
associated with these locations. 52% offered
a special hardship allowance as an incentive,
in recognition of the perceived reluctance
for assignees to take positions in hardship
locations. Furthermore, 45% offered
emergency evacuation, and 44% offered a
vehicle with driver as security issues were
highlighted as a significant challenge for
hardship locations. For example, 96% of
organisations identified security as a key
concern for assignments to Nigeria.

Change in how organisations
manage the control of their mobility
programmes from 2012 to 2013

Do you expect your organisation to
become less focused on reducing the
cost of its mobility programme over
the coming 12 months?

Managing costs not forgotten
as assignment activity grows…
As in previous years, effective cost
management topped the list of priorities
for mobility programmes. Two thirds
(69%) report that they expect to be more
focussed on cost reduction over the next
12 months. Three actions dominate these
attempts to cut costs:
• Seeking process efficiencies (46% identify this as an area of focus)
• Tighter supplier management (43%)
• Changes to benefits packages within
mobility policies (33%).
Although Programmes managed from
emerging markets are less likely to be
cost sensitive, an important difference
between emerging markets and the rest of
the world emerges here. Those mobility
programmes managed from emerging
markets are less likely to seek cost
reductions by doing anything that might
negatively impact employees.

A Delegation of Control
The report also showed that for those
organisations who regularly transfer their
employees internationally, more of their
HR departments were decentralising
the way that they manage global
mobility operations away from a single
global centre of control. Between 2011
and 2013, 8% less organisations now

manage their programmes centrally and
9% more organisations decentralise
the management of their mobility
programmes (i.e. either regionally or
locally). The report showed more had
adopted regional approaches to how
they manage their mobility programmes
in order to focus on increased growth in
assignments to emerging market countries
in Asia, South America and now Africa.
“This has especially been seen in
international mobility programmes where
practices between locations have differed
for no good reason and this inconsistency
has become apparent for serial expatriates.
Delegation control of mobility programmes
to a regional unit makes sense when either
movement is confined to a region, or where
there is a regional scheme (with different
terms and conditions) running in parallel
to a global scheme,” said Peter Reilly,
Director HR Research & Consultancy,
Institute for Employment Studies.
Experts interviewed in conjunction
with the report cite reasons for this trend
including a changing marketplace, improved
skillsets in emerging markets, economic
challenges in the West, accelerated growth
in Brazil, India and particularly China, and
sheer volume of assignments in and out of
regional locations.
“Often organisations have regional
global mobility teams where there is
a critical mass of employees moving
into or out of a region. This justifies
the headcount and allows the Global
Mobility Managers face-to-face time with
employees, removing the challenges posed
by time zone differences,” said Emma
Gibbs, Director, The Expat Academy.
“For companies unfamiliar with a
region in which they wish to do business,
outsourcing provides a number of
Summer International HR Adviser

29

30

GLOBAL MOBILITY SURVEY
advantages, that might include payroll
and benefit administration, recruiting
and hiring support, employee assignment
coordination, immigration, transportation,
and communication. But one of the most
critical areas where outsourcing supports
the company is to provide a ‘boot on the
ground’ representative to address company
needs and to communicate issues back to
the corporation,” said Peggy Smith, SCRP,
SGMS, President/CEO, Worldwide ERC.

Conclusion
The Global Mobility Survey analyses key
trends relating to international employee
mobility and HR.
The report also investigates trends in
terms of how companies manage their
employee mobility programmes, how
they structure their assignment packages,
critical aspects of managing mobility
programmes such as cost management,
compliance and management of risk, key
tools used to manage employee mobility
programmes,
“HR departments within international
organisations are seeing an increase
in the number of employees that work
internationally”.

International HR Adviser Summer

Andrew Dalglish, Director of
independent research company Circle
Research, commented “the subject
of emerging markets has dominated
the headlines and has prompted
additional research into this area. The
results of the Global Mobility Survey
research show that traditional growth

markets still present significant
challenges to mobility programmes
and that new frontier locations in
Asia, South America and Africa look
set to bring their own set of unique
circumstances.
Copies of the report can be requested from
www.globalmobilitysurvey.com
Mike Brazier
Global Mobility Survey Research Editor,
commented “The Global Mobility Survey continues to provide new and detailed
insight into key mobility trends. We hope
everyone finds the information, the Report
and the Web Portal useful for benchmarking their own programmes.”
T: +44 (0)7765881649
About the Global Mobility Survey
The Global Mobility Survey is the most
robust review of multinational mobility
programmes. The results are collected from
1,273 company respondents from across
North America, Latin America, Europe,
Middle East, Asia and the Pacific region and
span a wide range of industry sectors.
The Global Mobility Survey is conducted
by Circle Research and commissioned by
Santa Fe Group. Copies of the report can be
requested from
www.globalmobilitysurvey.com

global cost of living survey

Tokyo Knocked Off The Top Spot
In The List Of The World's Most
Expensive Cities For Expatriates
Oslo, Norway tops the cost of
living ranking
For the first time in three years, Tokyo
is no longer the most expensive location
for international assignees. The city has
been overtaken by Norway's capital
Oslo, and now lies in sixth place in the
ranking. These were among the findings
of the latest cost of living research by
ECA International.
At the top of the global list, Oslo is
followed by the Angolan capital of Luanda,
where the goods and services commonly
purchased by expatriates are difficult
to access and command a premium.
Stavanger (Norway), Juba (South Sudan)
and Moscow (Russia) are also now more
expensive than Tokyo. These cities make
up the top 5 most expensive locations for
expatriates globally.
"Tokyo has always been an expensive
place for global companies to send staff,
and, despite its five-place fall since last
year, that remains the case," said Lee
Quane, ECA's regional director, Asia.
"The significant depreciation of the Yen
against other major currencies in recent
months is the primary reason for this
drop. It means that for many companies,
the cost of maintaining their assignees'
purchasing power while posted there has
fallen. But it's important not to exaggerate
the position â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Tokyo is still the world's
sixth most expensive city, and the most
expensive in Asia."
Companies sending employees on
international assignment will often pay an
allowance to ensure that their assignees'
spending power is not compromised.
To help multinational companies
calculate these allowances, ECA carries
out two Cost of Living Surveys per year,
comparing a basket of consumer goods
and services commonly purchased by
assignees in more than 400 locations
worldwide.
Living costs for assignees are affected
by inflation, availability of goods
and exchange rates, all of which can
have a significant impact on assignee
remuneration packages. Certain living
costs such as accommodation rental,

utilities charges, car purchases and school
fees are usually compensated for separately
in expatriate packages, so this data is not
included in this survey.

Round the world highlights
Europe
Oslo not only has the most expensive cost
of living for international assignees in
Europe, but also the world. Norway has
among the highest standards of living in
the world, largely derived from oil revenue.
While prices there have increased little in
the last year, the free-floating Norwegian
Krone has remained strong, reflecting the
country's relative economic resilience.
Within Europe, the Norwegian capital
is followed by Stavanger (3rd globally)
and Moscow (5th). The Russian Rouble
has weakened between surveys against
major currencies but the cost of goods
and services in ECA's basket in Moscow
has nevertheless increased more than 10%
again this year.
Despite falls in prices and the Swiss Franc
weakening against other major currencies
over the past year, Swiss locations remain
among the top ten most expensive locations
for expatriates in the world.
British locations are among those in the
region to have fallen most in the ranking.
Central London dropped 21 places and is
currently in 87th place globally, largely as
a result of the pound depreciating against
other major currencies.
The Eurozone debt crisis still affects
much of Europe and cost of living in
many locations across the region fell as a
result of the weak euro and low inflation
compared with other regions.
Chisinau, capital of Moldova, is the
cheapest European location in terms of
cost of living for international assignees.
It ranks 225th globally.

Asia
Within Asia, Japanese cities still dominate
the top of the cost of living ranking - 4 of
the region's top 5 most expensive locations
are found there. Seoul joins them, having
jumped from 7th to 3rd most expensive
Asian location (and from 29th to 14th

globally). Not only have the prices of
goods and services there increased at a
faster rate than the previous year, but the
Won has also strengthened against major
currencies thereby pushing up costs there
for many international assignees.
Beijing (24th globally), Shanghai
(26th), Singapore (36th) and Hong
Kong (38th) complete the list of the top
10 most expensive locations in Asia. On
average, prices of items in ECA's cost of
living basket for Chinese locations have
increased little or even seen small decreases
this year. As a result, Chinese locations
have fallen slightly down the ranking but
the on-going strength of the Yuan against
major currencies has prevented them from
dropping too far.
Indian locations continue to be among
the region's cheapest in terms of cost of
living for international assignees. New
Delhi, ranked 200th globally is followed
by Mumbai (215th).
Karachi, ranked 256th globally, is
the least expensive Asian location for
expatriates.

Americas
Despite dropping down the ranking,
Caracas, ranked 33rd globally, remains the
most expensive location in the Americas
for international assignees. Manhattan
and Vancouver follow, ranking 43rd and
51st respectively.
The weakening of the Brazilian real
against many major currencies over the
year has more than offset the 6% price
increase overall of items in ECA's cost
of living basket for Brazil and locations
there continue to drop down the global
ranking. While Rio de Janeiro is the
4th most expensive location in the
Americas, it has dropped 20 places
globally to 52nd spot.
The economic situation in Argentina
remains complicated. Despite showing
signs of slowing, inflation there is still
above 20% while the black-market peso
exchange rate in Argentina has soared.
Buenos Aires has risen from 76th to
64th position in the global cost of living
ranking. Two years ago it ranked 130th.
Summerâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; International HR Adviser

31

32

global cost of living survey
Australia
For the first time in recent years, all the
Australian cities have seen slight falls
down the global ranking. While the
Aussie dollar remains a strong global
currency, it has weakened against some
major currencies. Additionally, the rate
at which prices have increased has slowed
since a year ago.
Sydney remains the most expensive
of the Australian locations surveyed. It
is in 17th position globally followed by
Canberra (23rd).

Middle East
Tel Aviv ranked 37th globally remains the
most expensive location for assignees in
the Middle East. Dubai has gained 8 places
and is positioned 174th worldwide.
Despite rampant inflation, the
introduction of a floating exchange rate
in Iran has seen Tehran plummet down
the cost of living ranking to become the
cheapest location listed. At the official
rate, however, the city would be among
the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top 10 most costly, illustrating
the dramatic impact of currency value on
the global ranking.

Africa
Four of the world's 20 most expensive
expatriate locations are in Africa: Luanda
(2nd globally), Juba (4th), Brazzaville
(18th) and Kinshasa (19th). The cost
of exporting and transporting items
commonly purchased by international
assignees in these locations are likely
to be high. In addition, the commodity
boom in recent years has led to currency
appreciations in commodity-exporting
markets like Angola. South African
locations Durban (253rd globally) and
Cape Town (251st) are among some
of the cheapest locations in the world
while locations in Malawi are those
to have seen the continent's biggest
falls down the ranking. Cost of living
there has fallen significantly following
the devaluation of the kwacha after the
government was recommended by the
IMF to float the currency.

About ECA's Cost of Living
Survey
ECA International's cost of living indices
are calculated based upon surveys carried
out annually in March and September
using a basket of day-to-day goods and
services. The data used above refers to
year-on-year movements between ECA's
March 2013 and 2012 surveys.
International HR Adviserâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; Summer

International HR Adviser
AND Previously PUBLISHED ARTICLES
ONLINE!
SUMMER 2012

ISSUE 50

International
HR Adviser
The Leading Magazine

nals Worldwide

For International HR Professio

PRIcE £10.00

Internatio
nal
HR Advise
r

SPRING 2012

The Leading

Magazine

For Internat

ional HR Prof

ISSUE 49

PRIcE £10.

essionals Wor

ldwide

Tier Cities
In 3rd And Even 4thFeat
Challenges For HR - Investing
ures include:
Features include: China
Order
London 2012
• Salaries: The New World
Olympic and
Nurturing Global Leaders
Paralympic
Employment:
nal Mobility Management
Games: Help
Of The Possible In Internatio
To Boldly
ing You To
Data Analytics - The Art
Go Where
Relocation:
Update
Taxation
Overcome
Global
No Employe
•
What WalThe Hurdles
e Has Gon
Global Immigration Update
Mart Has Taug
Global Mob
e Before
Management
ht Us About
ility Strategy:
Talent
•
Surveys
Global Trends
Expansion
It Is Time
Into Europe
To Treat Mob
Retaining
Expatriate
ility Like A
Staff: How
Business Imp
To Keep Expa
Advisory Panel for this issue:
erative
Global Imm
triates From
igration •
Leaving
Global Tax
Update

Advisory Pane

l for this issue

:

VISIT
WWW.INTERNATIONALHRADVISER.COM
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
(see the 'View Magazine Online' and 'Articles' pages)
FOLLOW US ON

@IHRAmagazine

00

34

Health

A Healthy Global Workforce
We live in a globalised world.
Organisations large and small can do
business across continents.
International businesses have increasingly diverse workforces. The HR challenge remains the same, of course: making sure employees are at their best,
whether they’re based in Singapore or
Sydney, Manchester or Mumbai.
The idea that a healthier workforce
leads to improved profit margins is
nothing new. Healthier employees take
less sick leave and tend to be more productive. Employees value their health
– working for an employer that takes a
genuine, proactive interest in their wellbeing can lead to greater engagement,
work and loyalty.
In truly international organisations,
your approach to employee health might
need to be different from region to region.
Regardless, being proactive is important.
You need a well-rounded, relevant and
engaging offer.
Offering the right health benefits package should be part of that. But a more
personal approach looking at wider wellbeing, preventative measures and your
employees’ individual circumstances will
be most meaningful.
Here’s some food for thought for HR
professionals working with international,
and internationally-mobile employees.

Health for frequent flyers
Employees that are regularly on the move
need to make very specific choices about
their health. Here are some tips on guidance you can offer colleagues to help them
make healthy ones.

1. Maintaining good blood
circulation while flying
Sitting still for long periods of time can
put people at risk of developing deep vein
thrombosis, a condition where a blood
clot forms in a deep vein, usually in the
leg. It can lead to serious complications.
Remind frequent flyers regularly about
reducing the risk of DVT by exercising
their legs at least once every hour. Consider
boosting awareness of the issue by purchasing flight socks for these employees.

need to take more care over what they
eat and drink. Contaminated food and
water could lead to diseases like cholera, typhoid and hepatitis, but is easily
avoided through:
• Drinking bottled or boiled water
• Ordering drinks without ice
• Washing hands before eating
• Peeling fruit and raw vegetables
• Eating freshly cooked and piping hot
food.

3. Protecting skin from the sun
Employees spending time in a warmer climate than they’re used to should be extra
vigilant. They should take extra care to
protect their skin in the sun if they have:
• A family history of skin cancer
• Moles or freckles
• Pale skin and/or fair or red hair and/or
blue eyes
• Skin that burns easily or if it’s been
badly sunburnt before.

4. Regular check-ups before
travelling abroad
Getting ill when you’re far from home can
be a stressful experience. Regular health
and dental check-ups can nip any minor
complaints in the bud before they get
more serious – and provide peace of mind
for regular travellers. Longer-term problems can also be avoided if they are caught
early and will mean less time spent away
from work in the long run.
Health insurance is most often associated with access to critical care in times
of emergency or distress. However, it’s
worth checking what your company’s
cover includes as your staff may be able to
access free health and dental check-ups as
standard – and your employees are more
likely to take advantage of them if they
know it’s free or a low-cost co-payment.

Health and the workplace
Instilling good habits in the workplace
early on will have significant, long-term
effects for your employees and your business. Advice for employers on dealing with
issues like repetitive strain injury (RSI) and
back-pain is widely available, but there are
a broader range of issues to consider.

2. Eating and drinking safely

Mental wellbeing

When travelling on business to certain parts of the world, employees may

Stress can act as a gateway to other, more
serious health problems such as depression

International HR Adviser Summer

and heart disease so it’s important to address
it in its early stages. Of course, work isn’t
always the origin, but wherever it comes
from stress can affect attendance, performance and team morale, so it’s important to
have mechanisms that allow you to spot and
address it wherever possible.
Signs of stress in colleagues can
include:
• Reduced work performance
• Child-like behaviour like sulking, crying or arguing
• Aggression
• Poor timekeeping
• Absenteeism
• Physical signs such as tremors, stomach
problems, weight gain or loss
• Increased drinking or smoking.
If you notice any of the above among your
employees, there are a number of ways
you can help to reduce this stress:
1. Consider how demands on the
employee could be better managed,
including workload and working environment
2. Offer the employee more influence over
how they carry out their role
3. Consider what resources, encouragement or sponsorship could be provided
4. Promote a positive working environment to avoid conflicts
5. Be clear about the employee’s role, giving them defined duties that match the
organisation’s broader objectives
6. Consider whether organisational
changes should be better dealt with and
communicated to staff.
Stress can easily be overlooked as an inevitable part of working life. But failing to
spot the signs and tackle them early can
lead to it becoming embedded in your
culture. A stress-free workforce is more
committed, productive, and serves its customers better.

Obesity
Obesity carries serious health risks, increasing the likelihood of a range of diseases
including diabetes, heart disease and several
forms of cancer. It also increases the risk
of high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and
strokes. It contributes to back problems – a
major cause of absence from work.
Obesity has also been linked to sleeping
problems. Not only is this another cause

health
of falling productivity, but it can even be
dangerous if your employees are driving
or operating heavy machinery.
It’s a sensitive subject for employers
to approach, but there are ways to offer
guidance to your employees without making them feel uncomfortable. For most
employers, the best way to tackle obesity
is to encourage a healthy diet and active
lifestyle among employees. You could do
this through:
1. Introducing policies that encourage
physical activity. Your travel expenses
policy could encourage walking to and
from work, for example
2. Encouraging cycling to work by providing showers and secure parking spaces
for bikes. Make the most of any government initiatives that allow employers
to loan cycles to employees as a tax free
benefit
3. Supporting and encouraging lunchtime
walks and local leisure activities
4. Encouraging staff to walk over and
speak to colleagues face to face rather
than phoning or emailing

5. Thinking about the nutritional value
of canteen meals and the contents of
vending machines. Could you provide
free fruit?
6. Providing gym facilities, or contributing towards gym membership. If your
staff are already covered by a provider,
they may have access to preferential
rates at health and fitness clubs.

Health insurance as a benefit
In many countries around the world
healthcare cover is considered as important as a company pension. It is becoming increasingly common in benefits
packages for employees posted overseas and can play a big part in hiring
and retaining the most talented people.
Selecting the right health cover is therefore crucial, and this revolves around
making sure it matches the individual
needs of your employees.
Although only a handful of places
currently require all expats to have private medical cover in place, such as Abu
Dhabi, there is a growing likelihood that

it will become compulsory, particularly in
the GCC region.
But while offering the right private
medical cover is important, there is a bigger job to be done than just offering a
benefits package alone.
To offer a tangible and valued benefit to
employees, a health insurance plan should
ideally be one part of an organisation’s
broader efforts to engage employees on
their health. Done well, educating and
encouraging your workforce to look after
their own wellbeing, both inside and outside of the workplace, will make a real difference to them – and to your business’
bottom line.
By Dr Mark Simpson, Medical
Director, Bupa International.
For further information about Bupa
International and its business healthcare plans, call +44 (0) 1273718308
from 8am-6pm Monday to Friday
and 9am-1pm on Saturday,
or visit us online at
www.bupa-intl.com/for-business.

Summer International HR Adviser

35

36

education

The IB Diploma, For University And
Beyond
Internationally-mobile families have
been at the forefront of recognising the
many advantages international curricula offer their children. But it’s not
just international families enjoying the
benefits of such programmes. Increasingly, universities worldwide are seeking International Baccalaureate (IB)
Diploma graduates and now employers, recruiting 21st Century talent, are
also discovering the combination of
academic rigour and the valuable ‘soft’
skills embedded in the programme.
At a recent event at the International
School of London (ISL) Surrey, partnered with Families in Global Transition
(FIGT) UK, business leaders, relocation
and education consultants, plus head
teachers from across the UK attended a
forum on the International Baccalaureate
Diploma Programme (IB DP) and discovered how well it prepares students not
just for university, but for life in the 21st
Century Innovation Economy.
The IB Diploma was originally founded
to give both breadth and depth to preuniversity study. Offered as a two-year
course of study prior to university, the
diploma is a truly international diploma,
offered in 135 countries. The ten major
countries for IB students are: the US,
Canada, UK, Netherlands, Mexico, India,
Spain, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Sweden. Students are required to study six
subjects – three at higher level which is
like a British A-Level or US Advanced
Placement Course – and three at standard level. The six subjects must include
two languages, maths, science, humanities (history, economics, business studies,
etc), and a sixth subject which can either
be another course from the previous categories or some form of the arts. Additionally, students are required to complete
a 4000-word extended essay which is like
a university-level research project, a Theory of Knowledge course which is like a
beginning philosophy course, and a range
of creative, active and service projects.
Paul Morris, IB Coordinator and
Deputy Head of ISL London, noted that
universities worldwide are increasingly
seeking Diploma graduates. He cited
recent research showing that the IB DP
is gaining increasing credence with the
International HR Adviser Summer

better Higher Education Institutions
(HEI). 44.2% of all IB graduates attend
the Top HEIs, compared with 20% of
A-Level students. Additionally, Oxford
extends offers to 7% of all applicants,
but nearly 6% of offers are made to IB
candidates even though they represent
less than 1% of the applicant pool.
But it isn’t just UK universities which
like the IB. The five colleges and universities which accept the highest number of
IB international student enrolments are
Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, University
of Southern California and Colby College.
According to Morris, “Universities like the
IB because the students are well-rounded,
independent learners and good critical
thinkers. They are impressed by the consistency of grading; there has been no
grade inflation. Finally, universities single
out the extended essay because they feel it
prepares them for university level study.”
Whilst the academic rigour is an
important part of the programme, what
universities and, increasingly, employers
are looking for are the embedded values.
According to Professor Tony Wagner of
the Harvard Graduate School of Education, speaking during a presentation
in the Davos World Economic Forum,
“tomorrow’s school-leavers will need critical-thinking and problem-solving skills,
the ability to collaborate and work in a
team; advanced oral and written communication skills, agility and adaptability.”
These skills are at the heart of the IB
Programme in its Learner Profile. The
curriculum, from the primary years
through the IBDP, develops learners who
are critical-thinkers and problem-solvers;
communicators who speak more than one
language with excellent written and verbal
communication skills, adept at working
in teams. They are principled and openminded, accustomed to considering and
understanding differing viewpoints from
around the world. According to Professor Wagner, where once HR departments
hoped to discover such traits five years
ago, now it is a prerequisite even to get a
job interview.
Referring to research on future work
skills, Claire Snowdon, Co-Chair of Families in Global Transition UK, presented

information on the key competencies
needed in the world of work. She cited
eight critical competencies for graduates
which included:
1. Global mindset
2. Global knowledge
3. Cultural agility
4. Advanced communication skills
5. Management of complex interpersonal
relationship
6. Team working and collaboration
7. Learning agility
8. Adaptability, flexibility, resilience, drive
and self-awareness.
Tying in with the IB programme, she
noted that employers were looking for
“the ability to work collaboratively with
teams from a range of backgrounds and
countries, excellent communication skills
both speaking and listening, an ability to
embrace multiple perspectives and challenge thinking, and an ability to influence
clients across the globe from different cultures. Time and again, we find that some
of the key skills and competencies are the
focus of the IB programme.”
These points were reinforced by
Regional HR Manager for the Europe
Division of the American Bureau of Shipping, Kimberley Blasingame, GPHR,
who picked up on this research. “This
morning, we’ve been hearing about the IB
programme and what research is telling us
and we’re all saying the same thing. You
can pretty much take that IB programme
and put it in the corporate world. We
use those same skills. We want kids to
go to college and get good grades, by all
means, I want someone who’s done well
academically, but I also want someone
who has been on a sports team, has done
some community service and gets on with
a barrage of people from different cultures
because they’re going to need to think and
work as a team and fit into our diverse
and global corporate community. With
the IB programme, the skill set we need
is embedded in it, so those students are
already one step ahead.”
Tarek Mouganie, ISL IB graduate and
CEO and founder of Affinity, a financial institution that provides loan and
financial literacy programmes to entrepreneurs in Ghana, echoed these points

education
based on his recruitment experience.
Previously, he was an investment manager at GLG Partners and Man Group,
the second largest fund in the world,
where he managed an equity portfolio
before joining the executive management's strategy team. He recalls recruitment sessions at Oxford, Cambridge
and Imperial College for the 100 billion hedge fund. “We did back-to-back
interviews for three days and everyone
had four As at A-level or over 40 points
on the IB. It’s going to get harder for

future generations who will need to differentiate themselves. The people who
did the best in our interviews had the
most diverse and holistic backgrounds.
But they also had good experience, support from their families and teachers and
they worked really hard.”
In summary, talks focused on skills
sought by multi-national employers,
current research on the drivers that
will reshape the landscape of work,
and future key work skills. Corporate
speakers discussed what they are looking

for in the “talent pool” and it closely
mirrors the IB Learner profile. In short,
today’s internationally-mobile child being
schooled through the IB programmes,
could be tomorrow’s global leader.
Heather Mulkey is the International
Schools of London (ISL) Group Marketing and Admissions Officer. The
three ISL Schools in London, Woking
and Doha offer international curricula with integrated mother tongue
language programmes.

You are cordially invited to

The 2014
Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition
on

Monday 3rd February 2014
10.00am - 5.00pm
at

Hotel Russell, 1-8 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 5BE

This event is FREE TO ATTEND

Come along and meet our exhibitors who have products and services that support
expatriates and their families.
There are also free seminars running throughout the day.
You will need to pre-register for the seminars as places are limited so please email
helen@internationalhradviser.com
For further information on this event please call Helen Elliott
on 020 8661 0186

Summer International HR Adviser

37

38

immigration

Global Immigration - Family Experience
Studies show that relocation is rated as
one of the most stressful events in life
following death and divorce according
to the Employee Relocation Council.
That comprised with the complexities of
bureaucratic and frequently compound
formalities may affect the scheduling of
a move considerably. Furthermore, the
entire experience may have an impact on
the seconded workers whilst they are being
torn between new duties and ensuring
that their family can join the assignment
without interruptions and settle in their
new location. This requires extensive
planning which cannot be completed
without taking into account the legal
formalities of the stay in the destination
location. In order to ensure this part of
the transition is smooth, it is extremely
important to prepare in advance, based
on a proper assessment not only for an
employee but also for the entire family.
Procedures for family members will
vary depending on their nationality.
Applicable steps across Europe will differ
considerably, and will not be consistent
in terms of steps required, timing of the
procedure and the documents needed.

Family Definition:
General definition of family refers to a
group of relations defined by local laws
which determine further relations and
responsibilities towards those members.
Immigration regulation narrows this
definition further and therefore, while
preparing for the relocation, it is important
to look into the legal implications for
every family member, as each country
will have a different definition as to who
is recognised as a dependent of the main
applicant. Usually governing laws will
identify only the closest family members
such as a wife and children, step-children
(in case of custody) or adopted children
(provided applicable documentation is
in place). Children above a certain age
will also not be recognised as dependents
in some countries, as immigration
regulations indicate an age limit which
is usually set at 18 years old, as it is for
example in Spain. In such cases the child
will have to apply for their independent
permits, for example, study permits if
they are university students. Within each
legislation there will also be exemptions
to set rules, like for example in Italy, law
International HR Adviserâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; Summer

also allows obtaining permits for other
relatives under special circumstances
(e.g. children older than 18 if they are
disabled, etc.). There are countries such
as the United Arab Emirates where for
female children there is no limit of age to
recognise them as dependents.
In Russia, the terminology of dependents
has been expanded for one of the
employment categories â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Highly Qualified
Specialists â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and foreigners who obtained
permits under this type can bring to Russia
not only their closest family members,
but also parents, parents of their spouses,
grandparents and grandchildren.
More restrictions in terms of family
definition will appear in cases of
partnerships and same-sex marriages as
only very few countries within Europe
will legally recognise these types of unions,
for example, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Norway, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland
and Denmark. Similar rights to marriage
are given to the same-sex civil unions in
a number of other European countries,
for example, in Hungary new legislation
came into force on 1 July 2009 which
allows same-sex couples to register their
relationships so they can access the
similar rights, benefits and entitlements
as opposite-sex couples. However, the
legislation does not allow opposite-sex
couples to register their relationships,
possibly due to fear that there might
be duplication under the law, therefore
partnerships still have to be reviewed
independently. Europe will see further
developments in regards to legal changes
on recognition of same-sex marriages
and partnerships, therefore this may in
the future impact existing immigration
regulations as well.

EU to EU Procedures:
Most of the countries within Europe will
have simplified procedures for groups of
various nationalities. For example, family
members of European Union nationals,
coming from outside of the Union, benefit
from simplified immigration procedures
and usually require less documents and
have less restrictions in obtaining necessary
permits to legally stay in a destination
country. Furthermore, those family
members benefit from work permit
exemption in most of the EU countries, as
it is in Slovakia for example, and can start

working upon issuance of the respective
registration or residence permit.

Permits Sponsor:
Family permits are usually supported
by the main applicant who is typically
a working spouse. Many countries
though have put further restrictions and
conditions based on which such support
can be provided. For example in Greece,
Portugal and Romania, seconded workers
who received permits for up to one year
will be limited in sponsoring permits of
family members, and they will not be
able to join them as dependents on this
short-term assignment. In such cases
family cannot permanently accompany
a foreigner and therefore other options
may have to be explored within the legal
boundaries for each individual case.

Forced separation:
Applications for the main applicant and
family members in most of the countries
are submitted simultaneously. Especially
in case of EU nationals and their EU
family members, there is no separation of
application, and it is advisable to complete
the procedure together. Non-EU family
members of EU nationals in some
countries, as it is for example in Romania,
have to wait for their spouse to first
register so that they can further file their
residence permit application for approval.
Regulations of many countries such as for
example, laws of Slovakia and Ukraine,
allow application for family members only
once the permits of the main applicant are
complete, which considerably extends the
processing time, and contributes to delays
in family members joining an assignee
in the destination location, therefore
contributing to forced separation which
can last a couple of months. When
applying for an extension family members
can apply together with the main applicant
before Residence Permit extension of the
principal is approved. However, it has
to be before the expiration of the valid
Residence Permit.

Process Steps:
Procedures differ depending on local
regulations, therefore it is imperative
to understand all the required steps of
the process and identify action points.
Regulations of multiple countries such

immigration
as for example, Russia or Kazakhstan,
require that a foreigner receives an
invitation letter before applying for a visa
in their home country. This procedure
can be time consuming, and for example
in Russia, may take at times, up to a
month. If applied for separately from the
main applicant, it may also require the
completion of the principal’s case first,
in order to continue with the family’s
application. The entire procedure requires
very careful planning, as it can coincide
with scheduled holidays before the new
assignment, while it maybe required for
the family to file for a new visa at the
consulate in the country of their residence
or citizenship which is for example,
mandatory in case of applications to
Romania. In such cases it maybe required
that family members have to give up their
passports for a couple of days in order to
have a visa endorsed, so they should plan
their travels accordingly.

Timelines:
Immigration procedures are time
consuming, therefore it is important to
understand from the beginning, the time
involved for every step of the process.
In some countries procedures may be
quite straightforward in the case of some
nationals, as it is in Poland. US citizens
for example, can enter the country on the
visa waiver status for up to 90 days within
180 days in the Schengen area and file for
a residence permit application within the
first 45 days of entering Schengen. Based
on this application they will be granted
with a residence permit which will be
issued within approximately 45 days, and
within approximately 1 month an ID card
will be issued which will allow the family
to travel easily in and out of Poland and
Schengen areas for up to 90 days within a
180 day period. In the case of visa nationals,
procedures are more complicated, as they
require a visa process to be completed prior
to arrival to the Schengen area. Such visas
can be granted only based on an invitation
letter approved by respective immigration
authorities in the destination country,
which is the case for example, in Slovakia.
Presently, obtaining such invitation
letters takes approximately 1-2 weeks, but
authorities are considering extending the
application time. In the case of Slovakia, a
visa is not the last step of the process, as
after arrival to Slovakia, family members
have to apply for a residence permit which
may take another 45-90 days to be issued.
Only once this final permit is granted will

family members be eligible to fully legally
reside in Slovakia and travel in and out of
the country. The processing time can be
quite extensive in Italy and in some of the
cities it may take up to 6 months, which
may restrict the ability of family to travel
outside of Italy into the Schengen zone.

High Migration Risk Countries:
Local regulations try to restrict entering the
country by nationals coming from so called high
migration risks zones, and in such circumstances
the processing time of the application can be
considerably extended. This can be the case for
example in Israel, when certain nationals from
Islamic countries (e.g. Malaysia) could face
problems entering Israel and could be asked for
security clearance which extends the processing
time by an additional 2-3 months. Also Russia
and some of the CIS countries do require extra
checks for nationals of such countries, and
therefore they run additional checks through
their Department of Migration Police before
approving the invitation required for the visa
application.

Documents Eligibility:
Once the immigration assessment is
provided, the foreigner should be advised
on how each of the required documents
has to be prepared. All personal documents
should be available at all times and
preferably up to date, for example passports
which in most of the countries should
be valid for at least 6 months beyond the
intended stay. Many countries will require
newly issued vital documents, such as
marriage and birth certificates like it is in
Spain, but others like for example, Poland,
will only settle for original certificates. Vital
documents are also extended to obtaining
criminal records from the country of
residence or countries where foreigners
were residing during the last couple of
years, which maybe time consuming, and
may add a considerable amount of time to
an initially designed timeline. Further such
documents must be quite often legalised,
and require additional verification through
various authorities and ministries as well
as consulates, before they can be used in
the destination location. Quite a common
form of legalisation is an apostille, which
is internationally recognised by member
countries of the Hague Convention.
Procurement of all documents has to also
be very carefully planned, as in many
countries there is a limitation on validity of
obtained documents, like for example, in
Slovakia, where documents on the day of
application cannot be older than 90 days.

Working Spouse:
While on the assignment spouses are
quite often looking into their own career
development and therefore would like to
consider undertaking a job as well. In most
countries spouses will be required to obtain
their own independent permit supported
by the newly identified employer and will
have to convert their status from dependent
to employment. Conversion of the status
in some countries will require travel to
the country of origin in order to file for a
work permit based visa, as only very few
countries such as for example, Poland or
Slovakia, will allow conversion in country.
Only spouses of EU Blue Card holders can
benefit from work permit exemption in
some of EU countries which is applicable
for example, in Spain.

Strategy:
Obtaining permits for family members
can be as challenging as the entire
relocation itself, therefore it should be very
carefully reviewed in conjunction with
the principal’s procedure. The lead time
should be considered at the same time
for both principal and family members in
order to guarantee the smooth transition
of the entire family to the new location.
As every immigration case is individually
designed, and in most of the circumstances
not comparable to other applications, it
is imperative that the outlined plan is
followed, as any deviations from the plan
may contribute to unnecessary delays.
Kasia Pinska is a
Manager - Eastern &
Central Europe based
in the Fragomen London office.
Her role includes supervising a team of experienced immigration consultants that coordinate international personnel transfers into the region,
assist clients with all matters relating to
inbound immigration and monitor quality standards of partner law.
Prior to joining Fragomen, Kasia was a
Regional Manager for over 7 years, with
extensive expertise in Eastern & Central
Europe, the Balkans, Russia & CIS and
the Middle East immigration processes
for the well renowned privately owned
firm with its offices in over 30 locations.
For further information please contact
Kasia at : Fragomen LLP, 4th Floor, Holborn Gate, 326 - 330 High Holborn,
London, WC1V 7PP, United Kingdom
(t) +44 (0) 203 077 5209
kpinska@fragomen.com
Summer International HR Adviser

39

40

Global Immigration Update

Global Immigration Update
United Kingdom
New Immigration Bill
Proposes Tougher Penalties
for Noncompliant Employers
and Unauthorised Workers
(May 8, 2013)
The UK government announced a new
immigration bill that seeks to curb unauthorised immigration through tougher
employer compliance measures and new
restrictions on access to public services by
immigrants. The bill was presented in a
speech by Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of the new session of Parliament.
The bill would increase fines for businesses that employ unauthorised foreign
workers. Fines for foreign nationals who
work in the UK without authorisation
would also increase.
There would be new limits on appeals
of immigration decisions, and immigration officers would be given broader
enforcement powers.
The bill would also make it easier for
the UK government to deport those without valid immigration status, prohibit
unauthorised immigrants from obtaining
driving licenses, compel private landlords
to check the immigration status of their
tenants, and prevent immigrants from
accessing public services to which they are
not entitled. Temporary migrants would
be required to pay for some health care.

Turkey
New Law Will Streamline
Work Authorisation Process,
Toughen Penalties for
Noncompliance
(May 8, 2013)
A new immigration law took effect in
April 2014 streamlining Turkey’s work
permit process by allowing foreign nationals to apply for residence permits at consular posts abroad. It will also create new
categories of residence permits, including
options for those who will open a business
or buy real estate in Turkey.
Residence permit application deadlines
have been extended, giving those opting to
obtain a residence permit from within Turkey 90 days to apply after entry, up from
30 days. Residence permit renewal applications will be accepted 60 days prior to
expiration, up from the current 15 days.
Business visits will be limited to a
maximum cumulative stay of 90 days in
International HR Adviser Summer

a 180-day period. Currently, there is no
such restriction.
There will be a new government office
to oversee the admission of foreign
nationals and harsher penalties for foreign
nationals who are out of status or violating the terms of their stay.
Until the government finalises its interpretation of the new law and issues implementing regulations, the specifics of the
reforms and their effect on employers will
not be fully known.

China
Longer Processing Times for
Immigration Applications at
Shanghai Labor Bureau
(May 8, 2013)
As of May 2, the Shanghai Labor Bureau
is more strictly adhering to its stated
processing times for immigration-related
applications, taking two to ten working
days longer than before to complete adjudications. Previously, the Bureau typically
worked faster than the official processing
times published on its website.
The current processing time for
employment license applications is 15
working days, up from five.
The current processing times for new
work permit applications are as follows:
• Standard applications on behalf of individuals who entered China with a Z visa
- five working days, up from three days.
• Applications from Asia-Pacific regional
headquarters offices (which do not
require an employment license) – 15
working days, up from five days.
• Applications from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau passport holders – ten
working days, up from five.
Standard work permit renewal applications are being processed in five working
days, up from three days previously. Work
permit renewals from Hong Kong, Taiwan
and Macau passport holders are taking five
working days to process, up from three.
Applications to amend an existing standard work permit are being processed in
five working days, up from three, except
for applications to change sponsoring
employer, which are taking 15 days to
process, up from five. Applications to
change sponsoring employer from Hong
Kong, Taiwan and Macau passport holders are being processed in ten working
days, up from five.

The processing time for some application types may be reduced to the prior
timeframes at the adjudicating officer’s
discretion.

United States
Foreign Students and
Exchange Visitors Face Closer
Scrutiny, Delays at U.S. Ports
of Entry
(May 9, 2013)
F-1 and M-1 foreign students and J-1
exchange visitors are facing additional
questioning and entry delays at U.S.
ports, after a change in Customs and Border Protection procedures following the
April 15 bombings in Boston.
CBP officers must now verify the status
of each F-1, M-1 and J-1 non-immigrant
in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) before admission.
Not all border officers are equipped with
access to SEVIS, however, so after preliminary processing, most students and
exchange visitors are referred to secondary inspection, where their SEVIS record
is reviewed and where they may be questioned further about their U.S. activities.
There are reports that CBP may use airline
manifests to verify SEVIS records in advance
of a foreign national’s travel to the United
States, but it is not yet known whether or to
what extent this practice is in use.
F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors
should be prepared for the new entry procedures and for the possibility of long waits at
U.S. ports of entry. They should be patient
and answer all questions clearly and fully.
CBP plans to equip all border officers
with SEVIS access in order to streamline
F-1 and J-1 admissions, but it is not yet
known when this will occur. Entry delays
are likely to continue until SEVIS access is
more widely available to border inspectors.
The change in CBP procedure was
prompted by the discovery that an individual charged with destroying evidence
in connection with the Boston bombings
is a foreign national who was admitted on
an F-1 student visa even though his status
had been revoked in SEVIS.

Global Immigration Update
The Shenzhen Labor Bureau now requires
employment license applications to be
accompanied by a medical report for the
foreign national being sponsored. The new
requirement, which took effect May 2,
2013, will mean that foreign nationals must
undergo a medical exam at the beginning of
the Shenzhen work authorisation process.
Previously, a medical report was not required
until the submission of the work permit application, which occurs after the foreign national
arrives in Shenzhen using a Z visa.
Foreign nationals can obtain the necessary medical report overseas after a medical exam conducted abroad, or in China
from a qualified International Travel
Healthcare Center supervised by the Chinese Quarantine Bureau. The medical
report required for work permit applications must be issued locally by the Chinese Quarantine Bureau.
The new requirement means that some
foreign nationals sponsored for Shenzhen
work permits will have to undergo two
medical exams – one conducted abroad to
obtain a medical report for the employment
license application and one in China for
the work permit application. However, this
might not be the case for all individuals. For
example, some foreign nationals may only
need one exam if they are able to travel to
China to complete the medical certification there before the employment license is
filed. Please consult with your immigration
China professional for the options suitable
to your specific circumstances.
The Shenzhen Labor Bureau is currently accepting employment license
applications without a medical report if
accompanied by a letter from the sponsoring employer explaining why the report
could not be obtained. However, the
Bureau could end this accommodation
without notice. In addition, the Bureau
retains full discretion over the sufficiency
of an employer’s explanation. The Bureau
is expected to strictly enforce the new
medical report requirement for all cases as
the July 1 implementation date for China’s new Exit-Entry Law draws closer.

Canada
CIC to Limit Immigration
Benefits for Children,
Lift Hold on Parent and
Grandparent Cases
(May 14, 2013)
Effective January 2, 2014, children over
the age of 18 will no longer qualify for
immigration benefits as dependents under
any Canadian immigration programme.

On the same day, Citizenship and
Immigration Canada will resume accepting
new applications to sponsor parents and
grandparents for permanent residence,
with an annual cap of 5,000 applications
for 2014.
Currently, Canadian citizens and
permanent residents can sponsor a
dependent child for permanent residence
up to his or her twenty-second birthday,
and foreign temporary workers may be
accompanied or later joined by a child
under the age of 22. CIC will continue
to consider children aged 19 to 21 as
dependents for applications submitted
before January 2, 2014. After that date,
children over the age of 18 will be able to
qualify for benefits as dependents if they
are financially dependent due to mental
or physical disabilities. Current exceptions to the maximum age for full-time
students will be eliminated.
CIC has not accepted new parent and
grandparent permanent residence applications since November 2011, when it instituted a two-year moratorium to reduce
backlogs. New applications will be subject
to increased financial responsibility requirements. The minimum income requirement
will increase by 30 percent, and sponsors
will be required to demonstrate that they
met the requirement for three years prior
to applying, up from one.
CIC will also make permanent the
Parent and Grandparent Super Visa, a
10-year multi-entry visitor visa for the
parents and grandparents of Canadian
citizens and permanent residents that
allows holders to stay in Canada for up
to two years per trip without the need to
renew their status.

Colombia
Government to Restructure
Visa Regime
(May 15, 2013)
The Colombian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs issued a new law that will restructure the current visa regime. Changes
include new names for visas and a total of
three visa categories, down from the current six. The new law took effect on June
24 but is not expected to affect document
requirements or processing times for
employers and foreign workers.
The current six visa categories will be consolidated into three: Temporary TP, Business
NE and Resident RE. The three categories
will each have several subcategories.
Temporary TP Category. This category
will include subclasses for temporary

workers, interns, students, religious
workers, volunteers, property owners,
pensioners, refugees, individuals involved
in adoption proceedings, and participants
in academic, artistic, scientific and
cultural events.
The temporary worker visa will be the
TP-4 visa, which will be valid for up to
three years. The current temporary worker
visa is valid for just one year.
Short-term technical workers will seek
the new TP-13 visa, which will allow stays
of up to 180 calendar days per year.
Business NE Category. Business visa
options will expand with the creation of
several new subcategories.
The multiple-entry NE-1 visa, valid
for up to three years, will be available to
entrepreneurs and investors establishing
new business in Colombia.
The NE-2 visa will be open to foreign
nationals engaged in business dealings
related to treaties, including the Pacific
Alliance trade bloc, of which Chile,
Colombia, Mexico and Peru are members. Representatives of foreign government institutions will be eligible for the
NE-3 visa. The NE-2 and NE-3 visas
will allow foreign nationals to receive
local remuneration and establish residence in Colombia for up to two or four
years respectively.
The NE-4 visa, valid for up to five
years, will be available to high-level executives of multinational corporations seeking to invest and promote business in
Colombia.
Resident RE Category. The Resident
RE category will provide a path to permanent residence for the following groups:
• Parents of children who were born in
Colombia;
• Former Colombian nationals who
renounced their citizenship;
• Temporary residents who have
remained in Colombia under a TP visa
(subcategories 3 through 9) for at least
five years;
• Partners or spouses of Colombian
nationals who have resided in Colombia for at least three years under the
TP-10 visa; and
• Individuals who have registered an
investment with the Bank of the Republic of at least 650 times the Colombian
monthly minimum wage.
Visas in this category will not be tied to a local
employer and will be valid for five years.
Resident RE visa holders who remain
outside of Colombia for two continuous
years will lose their residence.
Summer International HR Adviser

41

42

Global Immigration Update
Australia
Federal Budget Will Increase
Visa Application Fees, Make
Other Immigration Changes
(May 16, 2013)
The visa application charge for subclass
457 visa applications will nearly double
for applications submitted on or after
July 1, 2013, the Australian government
announced Wednesday in its 2013-2014
budget. The Fair Work Ombudsman
(FWO) will receive additional funding
for subclass 457 compliance activities.
The overall number of permanent
migration visas available in 2013-2014
will remain at 190,000. The total number
of employer-sponsored migration visas
will be 128,550, a decrease of 700 that
will be reallocated to family-sponsored
programmes. More Work and Holiday
programme visas will be available for
applicants from Malaysia and Indonesia.
Visa Application Charge Increases
The visa application charge for subclass
457 visa applications will increase to
AU$900 (from AU$455). This will be the
second significant increase in 457 application fees this year; in January, the fees
increased 30 percent.
Significant fee increases are also
expected for other temporary and permanent visa categories, though the exact
amounts have not been announced. Later
this year, the government is expected
to implement a fee for each dependent
included in a principal applicant’s visa
application, across all visa categories. The
amount of the dependent fee has not been
announced.
The new fees are part of a government
effort to shift costs of the country’s visa
system onto applicants and away from
taxpayers.
Additional Funding For Fair Work
Ombudsman
The FWO will receive additional funding
of AU$3.4 million over the next four years
to accommodate its new 457 programme
monitoring powers.
The FWO is an independent agency
responsible for ensuring compliance with
national workplace relations laws and
that all workers in Australia receive correct wages and entitlements. In March
2013, it was announced that the FWO
would be given powers to monitor and
enforce compliance with 457 visa regulations, particularly whether sponsored
foreign employees are working in their
International HR Adviser Summer

most recently nominated position and are
paid the market salary rates specified in
their visa applications. Fair Work Inspectors have the power to enter business
premises at any time during work hours
and request to inspect any relevant documents or interview any person.

workers. Intending immigrants would
not be included in the workforce
calculation if their employer had
filed permanent residence petitions
for at least 90 percent of the labour
certifications for which it received
approvals within a given timeframe.

More Subclass 462 Work and Holiday
Visas for Malaysia and Indonesia
The number of places available in the
Work and Holiday programme to applicants from Malaysia and Indonesia will
increase to 1,000, from 100, as part of
the Australia in the Asian Century programme. The Work and Holiday visa
programme allows young individuals
to take extended holidays in Australia
and authorizes them to work for any
one employer for up to six months. The
number of visas available in this programme are capped based on reciprocal
country arrangements.

Recruitment
Employers would be required to post
H-1B jobs on a DOL website, engage in
good faith recruitment using industrywide standards, and offer compensation
at least equal to that offered prospective
H-1B non-immigrants. DOL would be
required to facilitate the posting of H-1B
jobs on the websites of state workforce
agencies (SWAs). H-1B skilled-worker
dependent employers would be required
to offer a job opening for which an H-1B
worker is sought to any to any equally or
better qualified U.S. worker who applies
for the position.

Non-displacement
An H-1B employer, other than one who
is H-1B dependent or skilled-worker
dependent, is prohibited from displacing a U.S. worker if the employer is: (1)
filing an H-1B petition with the intent
or purpose of displacing a specific U.S.
worker from the position to be occupied by the beneficiary of the petition;
(2) providing services to worksites operated by federal, state or local government employer entities that would direct
and control the work of the prospective
H-1B employee; or (3) a public school.
H-1B skilled worker dependent employers would need to attest that they did not
and would not displace a U.S. worker
90 days before or after filing an H-1B
petition. For H-1B dependent employers, the non-displacement period would
remain 180 days before and after filing.

After several weeks of hearings and markup, the Senate Judiciary Committee on
Tuesday approved S. 744, the comprehensive immigration reform package, by a vote
of 13 to 5. The bill now proceeds to the full
Senate for debate, which began in June.
The last hours of mark-up saw several
amendments to the provisions of the bill
affecting non-immigrant workers. These
are summarised below.
The H-1B cap
The final version of the bill includes a
higher H-1B cap baseline of 115,000 and
a new formula that will allow for quota
increases of 5,000 to 20,000 within a fiscal year if demand exceeds the cap and the
unemployment rate for managerial, professional and related occupations is less
than 4.5 percent.
H-1B skilled worker dependency
Amendments to the bill introduce
enhanced recruitment and nondisplacement obligations for the “H-1B
skilled worker dependent employer,”
which is defined as an employer whose
skilled workforce – comprising full-time
equivalent employees in occupations
within Zones 4 and 5 of the Labor
Department’s O*NET database – is
made up of 15 percent or more H-1B

Outplacement restrictions on H-1B
dependent employers
The amended bill retains the prohibition
against outplacement by H-1B dependent
employers, but clarifies that dependent
employers who are non-profit institutions
of higher education, non-profit research
organisations or health care providers
petitioning for physicians or other health
care workers would not be not subject to
the restrictions, though they would be
required to pay an outplacement fee.
H-1B spousal work authorisation
The amended bill eliminates a provision

Global Immigration Update
that would have granted H-1B spousal
work authorisation only if the principal
H-1B’s home country provided reciprocal
benefits to similarly situated spouses of
U.S. citizens. However, the bill allows the
Department of Homeland Security, at the
request of the State Department, to suspend H-1B spousal employment authorisation for nationals of countries that do
not provide reciprocal benefits.
L-1B outplacement
The amendment prohibits the
outplacement of L-1Bs if 15 percent or
more of an employer’s full-time equivalent
workforce is made up of L-1Bs, including
intending immigrants. Otherwise,
employers would not be permitted to
outsource or outplace an L-1B unless: (1)
the worker is controlled and supervised
by the petitioning employer; (2) the
placement is not an arrangement to
provide labour for hire; and (3) the
employer pays a $500 STEM education
and training fee.
Covered employers
For purposes of the H-1B dependency and
skilled-worker dependency calculations,
intending immigrants are not included
in the calculation if their employer is a
“covered employer.” The amended bill
redefines covered employer to mean an
employer who has filed I-140 petitions
for at least 90% of current employees
who were beneficiaries of applications for
labour certifications that were approved
during the one-year period ending six
months before filing the H-1B or L-1
petition for which the number of intending immigrants is relevant.
Adjustment of status portability
The amended bill clarifies that, for purposes of adjustment portability, approved
I-140 petitions remain valid even if
withdrawn by the petitioning employer,
provided that the adjustment applicant
has a new job in the same or a similar
occupational classification.
Adjustment filing before visa availability. Under the amended bill, a foreign national would be eligible to file an
adjustment application concurrently with
an immigrant petition or at a later point
whether or not a visa number is available.
If a visa number is not available at the
time the adjustment is filed, the principal applicant would be subject to a supplemental fee of $500; dependents would
not be liable for the fee.

Effective date
The provisions of the bill would affect
all petitions and applications filed on or
after the date of enactment, but the H-1B
recruitment and non-displacement provisions would not apply to extensions or
other petitions or applications filed on
behalf of existing employees.
What Is Next for S. 744?
The Senate immigration bill has several
hurdles to overcome before it becomes
law. The package approved by the Judiciary Committee is subject to additional
changes on the Senate floor. If the bill is
passed in the Senate, it will need to be
reconciled with legislation passed by the
House of Representatives. The House
is at the early stages of crafting its own
immigration bill, and it is not yet clear
how much it will resemble the Senate’s
approach.

Brazil
Government Streamlines Work
Visa Application Procedures,
Creates Work Visa for
Graduate Students
(May 23, 2013)
The Brazilian government has established
electronic filing procedures to streamline
work visa applications and cancellation
requests, per two new resolutions. The new
laws lengthen the period for foreign workers under local contract to enroll in local
payroll. The government also created a new
local contract visa that allows graduate students to work in Brazil for up to 90 days.
Electronic filings and eased rules for
original documents. The government has
established streamlined electronic procedures for all work visa applications submitted to the Ministry of Labor - a change
from the former procedure of in-person
filings at this government office.
Unless out-dated, corporate documents
already on file with the Ministry of Labor no
longer need to be presented for subsequent
work visa applications. Local documents
will no longer need to be notarised except
in special circumstances when required by
Brazilian law. Original, legalised documents
from abroad do not need to be presented
simultaneously with the electronic Ministry
of Labor application; instead, they can be
presented within 60 calendar days of filing.
If the documents are presented after this
time frame, the application will automatically be denied.
Electronic cancellation procedures.
Requests to cancel a foreign worker’s visa

can now be submitted electronically; the
foreign worker, employer or authorised representative is no longer required to file the
request in person at the Ministry of Labor.
A foreign national’s work visa will automatically be cancelled if a request for a new visa is
filed and approved. Previously, a formal cancellation request had to be submitted before
a new visa request could be filed. Cancellations will be transmitted to the Ministry of
Justice and will be no longer published in
Brazil’s Official Gazette.
Changes to local contract rules and payroll start date. Employment agreements for
foreign workers under local contract are
now required to include a clause stipulating that the employee must commence
work within 30 calendar days of arrival in
Brazil under the work visa. As such, foreign
workers will no longer need to be enrolled
in local payroll on the same day as their
arrival in Brazil, but will instead have a
30-day window to enter local payroll.
New short-term local contract visa for
graduate students. A new local contract
visa allows graduate students to work in
Brazil for up to 90 days. The main supporting documents for the application are
proof of enrollment in an overseas graduate degree programme of at least 360 credit
hours and a limited-duration employment
contract with a Brazilian company.

European Union
Croatia Expected to Join EU
on July 1
(June 6, 2013)
Croatia will become the newest EU
member state on July 1, 2013, provided
all EU members ratify the accession treaty
by that date. A handful of EU member
countries have yet to do so, though they are
generally expected to ratify before July 1.
Once Croatia is an EU member, other
EU countries can choose to lift work
restrictions altogether - treating Croatians
as they do nationals of existing EU countries - or they can opt to impose temporary
work restrictions for up to seven years, provided certain conditions are met.
Though the governments of many
EU members have yet to finalise rules
for Croatian nationals, Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Estonia, Poland, Romania, and
Slovakia are expected to remove all work
restrictions for Croatian nationals.
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France,
Germany, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom
are expected to impose temporary work
restrictions on Croatian nationals, though
Summer International HR Adviser

43

44

Global Immigration Update
work rules may be less strict than those
for third-country nationals. Switzerland,
which is not an EU member, is expected to
treat Croatians in the same way the country treats Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, with work permit quotas separate from
those for third-country nationals.
Croatia is expected to lift its work restrictions for nationals of other EU countries,
though it can choose to impose restrictions
on nationals of countries that will maintain
restrictions on Croatian nationals.

Germany
New Regulations Broaden
Permissible Activities for
Business Visitors
(June 11, 2013)
Business visitors to Germany will be permitted to engage in a wider range of activities when a new Employment Regulation
takes effect July 1, 2013. There will also
be a new immigration option for workers
with vocational training but no university
degree, and restrictions on inter-European
transfers of third-country nationals will be
eased. The new law is aimed at promoting
skilled migration to Germany.
Expanded Options for Business Visitors
Foreign nationals sent to Germany by
their employers to establish, audit, or
control a subsidiary in Germany will no
longer require work authorisation. They
will be able to conduct these activities as
business visitors for up to three months
per year, as will foreign nationals seeking
to draft contracts for clients and supervise
contract implementation.
Leading executives of companies will
be allowed to work for up to six cumulative months per year as business visitors,
provided no individual stay exceeds three
consecutive months. Upper-level managers and partners are considered “leading
executives” under the rule.
New Options for Vocational Workers
Germany will introduce a new immigration
option for skilled workers with vocational
training but no university-level education.
Though details of the new programme
have not been announced, applicants are
expected to be required to demonstrate
that they have sufficient qualifications
in a profession that is recognised by the
German authorities. Their qualification
must be comparable to a qualification
obtained through German vocational
training for the specific profession.
German labour authorities will
International HR Adviser Summer

designate specific occupations open
to foreign vocational workers. Certain
occupations and nationalities may be
subject to annual quotas.
Van der Elst Visa Requirement to be
Eliminated for the Visa-Exempt
Van der Elst visas will no longer be
required of visa-exempt third-country
nationals working in a European Economic Area (EEA) country and seeking
to enter Germany to provide services to a
customer on behalf of their employer for
less than three months per year. The visa
requirement still applies to nationalities
requiring a visa to enter Germany.
The Van der Elst process derives from
a 1994 ruling by the European Court of
Justice regarding the right of an EU company to provide services within the EU. It
generally allows a non-EU national who is
employed by a company in one EU country to provide services to a company in
another EU country for a limited period
without the need for a work permit. It
has been incorporated into Germany’s
national immigration law for some time.

Canada
Further Restrictions on
Temporary Foreign Worker
Programme Are Proposed
(June 11, 2013)
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(CIC) recently published proposed regulatory changes to tighten standards for
labour market opinion (LMO) applications, impose new conditions on employers with regard to their LMO and nonLMO foreign workers, and increase the
government’s investigative and enforcement powers. The proposed rules are
expected to take effect in the near future.
CIC and Human Resources and
Skills Development Canada (HRSDC),
the country’s labour agency, will have
increased authority to impose one or
more new conditions on employers hiring
foreign nationals in positions for which
an LMO is required. The specific condition that would apply to a particular case
would depend on the terms of the employer’s LMO, as negotiated with HRSDC.
Potential conditions include requirements
that a foreign national’s employment will
result in direct job creation or job retention for Canadian citizens or permanent
residents, or result in the development or
transfer of skills and knowledge for the
benefit of Canadian citizens or permanent
residents. Employers might be subject to

a condition requiring them to make reasonable efforts to hire or train Canadian
citizens or permanent residents.
Employers will also be subject to
certain conditions regardless of whether
an LMO is required for a specific case.
Employers will be required to be actively
engaged in the business in which the
offer of employment was made, and
to comply with federal and provincial
employment laws in the province where
a temporary foreign worker works.
Employers will be required to meet all
conditions set out in the job offer, LMO
and work permit. Employers will also
be required to provide each temporary
foreign worker with employment in the
same occupation as that set out in his or
her offer of employment and wages and
working conditions that are substantially
the same as those in his or her specific
offer. Currently, an employer’s
compliance is determined by examining
its previous employment offers.
Employers will be required to maintain
records to demonstrate compliance with
programme conditions for six years from
the end of a temporary foreign worker’s
employment. Currently, employers are
only required to maintain compliance
records for two years.
New Inspection Powers for CIC and
HRSDC
HRSDC and CIC will be authorised
to verify the information provided by
the employer at the time of the LMO
request or work permit application was
accurate. CIC and HRSDC will also
have the authority to compel employers
to produce relevant documents, and to
enter and inspect any premises or place
in which a temporary foreign worker performs work. They will have the authority
to conduct inspections at any time during and up to six years after the employment of a temporary foreign worker.
Random verification inspections will
be authorised, as will inspections when
an official has reason to suspect that the
employer is not complying or has not
complied with programme conditions.
The content herein is provided for
information purposes only. If you
have any questions, please contact
Fragomen Global Immigration.
Fragomen Global, LLP
+1 (212) 688 8555 (direct)
globalknowledge@fragomen.com
www.fragomen.com

diary dates
SEPTEMBER 2013
Global Mobility Summit – Asia-Pacific Region
September 11, 2013
Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore
Staying up to date is key to ensuring a productive and successful
experience for your international assignees.
The annual Asia-Pacific Global Mobility Summit is where global
mobility professionals from across Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia
and the remainder of the region join to benefit from a top-level
conference featuring expert speakers and a series of panels, plus a
networking exhibition to assess leading suppliers and learn about the
latest advances in global mobility.
For more information please contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943
8027 or email iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk
In-house global mobility/HR professionals – book your free conference
and exhibition place at: www.totallyexpat.com/summits2013

Expatriate Management and Mobility Awards (EMMAs) - AsiaPacific Region
September 11, 2013
Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore
Dedicated to celebrating excellence in global mobility worldwide, the
2013 series of EMMAs will take place in three glamorous international
settings to recognise and reward the determination and successes of
those at the forefront of our industry – Singapore, Las Vegas and
London. Winners of the Asia-Pacific EMMAs will be announced on
September 11 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore.
Consisting of a dazzling drinks reception, gala dinner and ball, enjoy
this momentous occasion at a fabulous waterfront location!
Find out more and book your table at www.totallyexpat.com/
emmas2013 or contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943 8027 or
iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk

Corporate Education & Learning Innovation Summit
September 18 & 19, 2013
Chicago, IL, United States of America
The Corporate Education & Learning Innovation Summit, presented
by American Leaders, is a 2-day Summit for HR Professionals who
want to LEARN about new trends in learning, SHARE ideas and best
practices, and NETWORK with C-Level Executives.
This summit will focus on Platforms and tools which make learners
savvier than ever and therefore challenge companies’ learning structures.
Corporate learning leaders will have the chance to learn how to create
and maintain new Knowledge ecosystem in order to ensure a successful
merger of higher touch-corporate education, higher education and
learning technologies.
More information on our event can be found at
www.cross.americanleaders.com/CorpEdLearningInnovSummit

OCTOBER 2013
Global Mobility Summit – The Americas
October 3-4, 2013
JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa, United States of America
Staying up to date is key to ensuring a productive and successful
experience for your international assignees.
The annual Americas Global Mobility Summit is where global mobility
professionals from across the entire US join to benefit from a toplevel conference featuring expert speakers and a series of panels, plus a
networking exhibition to assess leading suppliers and learn about the
latest advances in global mobility.
For more information please contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943
8027 or email iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk
In-house global mobility/HR professionals – book your free place at:
www.totallyexpat.com/summits2013

JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa, United States of America
Dedicated to celebrating excellence in global mobility worldwide, the
2013 series of EMMAs will take place in three glamorous international
settings to recognise and reward the determination and successes of
those at the forefront of our industry – Singapore, Las Vegas and
London. Winners of the Americas EMMAs will be announced on
October 3 at the glamorous JW Marriot Las Vegas Resort & Spa.
Consisting of a dazzling drinks reception, gala dinner and ball, enjoy
this momentous occasion at a fabulous waterfront location!
Find out more and book your table at www.totallyexpat.com/
emmas2013 or contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943 8027 or
iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk

BDO International Expatriate Client Conference
October 24, 2013
Montreal, Canada
The Global Mobility Challenge - Further details about the conference
can be obtained from Arenda.Kuschke@bdo.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2013
Global Mobility Summit – Europe
November 8, 2013
Lancaster London, United Kingdom
Staying up to date is key to ensuring a productive and successful
experience for your international assignees.
The annual European Global Mobility Summit is where global
mobility professionals across Europe join to benefit from a top-level
conference featuring expert speakers and a series of panels, plus a
networking exhibition to assess leading suppliers and learn about the
latest advances in global mobility.
For more information please contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943
8027 or email iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk
In-house global mobility/HR professionals – book your free place at:
www.totallyexpat.com/summits2013

Expatriate Management and Mobility Awards (EMMAs) Europe
November 8, 2013
Lancaster London, United Kingdom
Dedicated to celebrating excellence in global mobility worldwide, the
2013 series of EMMAs will take place in three glamorous international
settings to recognise and reward the determination and successes of
those at the forefront of our industry – Singapore, Las Vegas and
London. Winners will be announced at the Lancaster Hotel in London
on November 8. This prestigious gala dinner and ball promises a
delectable dinner, comedy, casinos and dancing. Make sure you don’t
miss out by booking your table now!
Find out more and book your table at www.totallyexpat.com/
emmas2013 or contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943 8027 or
iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk

LLOYDS TSB INTERNATIONAL
Address: Waterloo Place, PO Box 1400,
London, SW5 9RE
Contact: Cliff Govender
Telephone: +44 (0)1624 657762
Email: cliff.govender@lloydstsb.co.uk
Website: www.lloydstsb-offshore.com/
employeebanking
Lloyds TSB International is part of Lloyds
Banking Group, one of the UK’s largest retail
banking groups with strengths and resources
that extend worldwide. With a network
of offices spanning four continents and
dedicated English speaking customer service
teams available 24-7, we are well placed to
meet the financial needs of international
employees and customers wherever they are
in the world.
As expatriate banking specialists we
understand that a new life abroad comes
with a host of different opportunities and
challenges. Our extensive local knowledge
and international banking expertise will
ensure that employees and customers have
what they need to make the most of this
exciting time in their life.
NatWest Global Employee
Banking
Address: Eastwood House, Glebe Road,
Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1RS
Contact: Neil Barsby, Head of NatWest
Global Employee Banking
Telephone: +44 (0)1245 355628
Email: neil.barsby@natwestglobal.com
Website: www.natwestglobal.com
NatWest Global Employee Banking is a
specialised department within NatWest
who work with Company HR functions/
Relocation Agencies to offer a streamlined
account opening service for relocating
employees. One of the main benefits of
the service is that employees can apply for
their account before they arrive in the UK
so their account is ready when they arrive.
This may also help if they want to transfer
funds to their new account in preparation
for relocation.

Email: londoninfo@fragomen.com
Website: www.fragomen.com
As the world's leading provider of
immigration legal services and advice,
Fragomen has served the immigration needs
of clients ranging from individuals to the
world’s leading multinational corporations
for 60 years. With 42 offices in 17 countries
worldwide, Fragomen has the resources and
the reach to provide strategic and effective
immigration solutions for over 140 countries
around the globe.

INTERNATIONAL HR
CONSULTANTS

DELOITTE LLP
Stonecutter Court, 1 Stonecutter Street,
London, EC4A 4TR
Contact: Robert Hodkinson, Partner
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7007 1832
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7007 1060
E-mail: rhodkinson@deloitte.co.uk
Website: www.deloitte.co.uk
Whether you are creating your first
international mobility programme for
employees or addressing fundamental
changes to an existing programme, our
International Human Resources team can
help. Deloitte provides consulting support
that has an appreciation for each company’s
size, background and unique cultural
environment, aligning your international
programme goals with corporate business
strategies. Our consultants have developed
deep expertise in many fields based on
first hand experience with many of the
world’s leading organisations: international
assignment policy and process design,
benchmarking, service delivery modelling,
improving vendor management and
helping our clients become more compliant
and their administration more cost-effective.

INTERNATIONAL MOVING

DT MOVING LTD
49 Wates Way, Mitcham,
Greater London, CR4 4HR
Contact: Tim Daniells
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7622 4393
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7720 3897
Email: london@dtmoving.com
Website: www.dtmoving.com
DT Moving is a world leading international
moving company. Founded in 1870, we serve
corporate customers all over the globe with
an award-winning* move management and
destination service programme. Through our
London and Paris headquarters and worldwide
network of global partners, we help clients
achieve their workforce mobility goals.
Every employee we relocate receives a
dedicated DT Moving team member as a
central point of coordination, support and
advice to ensure every part of their relocation
runs smoothly.
Our goal is your complete satisfaction, and
with a 96% customer rating for 2012, we
offer unrivalled quality at competitive rates.
*Awarded six global relocation awards since 2010.

Summer International HR Adviser

47

48

DIRECTORY
RECRUITMENT

RED GROUP OF COMPANIES
The Bower, Langford Hall, Witham Road,
Maldon, Essex, CM9 4ST
Contact: Caroline Frostick-Seear and Amie Cutts
Telephone: +44 (0)1621 840600
Fax: 01621 856062
Email: amie.cutts@redrecruit.com
Website: www.redrecruit.com
Red Recruit was founded in 2002 and specialises
in the Relocation and mobility industry. We
are a very professional, friendly and reputable
company who have extensive knowledge within
the industry.
We have access to a large volume of potential
candidates all seeking work in your industry all
over the UK, we will be able to find you a suitable
candidate to enhance your business.
We personally understand the importance
of finding the right calibre of staff for an
organisation. By using our service we will take the
pressure off you of finding a suitable candidate for
your company, saving you time, money and effort,
giving you the best attention at all times.

RELOCATION
HCR Relocation
UK Head office - Belvedere House
Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4HG, UK
Contact: Sally Kelly - HCR Business
Development Manager, EMEA.
Telephone: +44(0)1256 313780
Email: skelly@hcr.co.uk
Website: www.hcr.co.uk
Twitter: @relochatter
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/
company/hcr-group-limited
We look after people, your people. We have a
dedicated, high performing and professional
team to deliver our award winning relocation
service. Our knowledge, experience and empathy
ensures that each of your relocating employees
and their families are carefully managed and that
their specific needs are considered. HCR has
a true ‘one point of contact’ philosophy; One
dedicated, cross trained Account Manager and
Lead Relocation Consultant who will manage,
co-ordinate, deliver and provide comprehensive
support for every relocation case.
INTERDEAN RELOCATION SERVICES
Central Way, Park Royal,
London, NW10 7XW
Contact: Barrie Gilmour
Telephone: +44 (0)208 961 4141
Fax: +44 (0)208 965 4484
Email: London@interdean.com
Website: www.interdean.com
Thinking Relocation? Think Interdean.
Whether looking to expand into new territories
or to leverage your human capital in core
international markets, Interdean has the relocation
service to support the needs of your business and
your relocating employees. Interdean provides
the full range of relocation services to support
businesses with international interests. We make it
easy. Our Services: Relocation Management, Visa
& Immigration, Area Orientation, Temporary
Housing, Home Finding, School Search,
International HR Adviser Summer

International Community
School
21 Star Street, London, W2 1QB
Contact: Matthew Cook, Director of
Marketing with Admissions
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7402 0416
Web: www.icschool.co.uk
Email: marketing@icschool.co.uk
Twitter: @icslondon
Youtube: ICSLondon
An international school located in the centre
of London. We offer all three International
Baccalaurate Programmes (PYP, MYP, and
Diploma) to children aged 3-18yrs. ICS
has a diverse community with 45 different
nationalities, and boasts a strong tradition
of working with students who need support
with learning English and also Special
Educational Needs. Students at ICS benefit
from a wide ranging activity programme
during term time and also during school
holidays. We have an outdoor education
centre located in Bawdsey, Suffolk and an
extensive Travel and Learn programme that
has taken students as far afield as Brazil,
South Africa and the Galapagos Islands.
ISL Group of Schools
ISL Surrey
Old Woking Road, Woking,
Surrey GU22 8HY
Contact: Claudine Hakim
Telephone: +44 (0)1483 750 409
ISL London
139 Gunnersbury Avenue, London W3 8LG
Contact: Yoel Gordon
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8992 5823
ISL Qatar
PO Box 18511, North Duhail, Qatar
Contact: Nivin El Aawar
Telephone: +974 4433 8600
Website: www.islschools.org
Email: hmulkey@islschools.org
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2012, the
International School of London (ISL) Group
has schools in London, Surrey, and Qatar.
The internationally recognised primary and
secondary curricula have embedded language
programmes (mother tongue, English as an
Additional Language, and second language)
which continue throughout the student’s
stay in the school. A team of experienced
and qualified teachers and administrators
provides every student with the opportunity
to grow and learn in an environment that
respects diversity and promotes identity,
understanding, and a passion for learning.
MARYMOUNT INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL LONDON
Address: George Road, Kingston upon
Thames, KT2 7PE

Contact: Mrs Cheryl Eysele
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8949 0571
Email: admissions@marymountlondon.com
Website: www.marymountlondon.com
With an outstanding record teaching the
respected International Baccalaureate for
over 30 years, Marymount offers day and
boarding to girls aged 11-18 who gain places
at the world’s best universities.
Consistently ranked within the top 5%
globally, Marymount also offers the pre-IB
Middle Years Programme; this stretches
students without the need for incessant
testing. The nurturing, supportive Catholic
Community welcomes all faiths and achieves
a shared purpose for girls of more than 40
nationalities.
TASIS THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN
ENGLAND
Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Surrey, TW20 8TE
Contact: Karen House
Telephone: +44 (0)1932 582316
Email: ukadmissions@tasisengland.org
Website: www.tasisengland.org
TASIS England offers the International
Baccalaureate Diploma, an American college
preparatory curriculum, and AP courses to
its diverse community of coed day (3-18)
and boarding (14-18) students from 50
nations. The excellent academic programme,
including ESL, is taught in small classes,
allowing the individualised attention needed
to encourage every student to reach their
potential. Outstanding opportunities in art,
drama, music, and athletics provide a balanced
education. Extensive summer opportunities
are also offered. Located close to London on a
beautiful and historic 46-acre estate.

TAXATION

BDO LLP
55 Baker Street, London, W1U 7EU
Contact: Andrew Bailey
Telephone: 020 7893 2946
Fax: 020 7893 2418
E-mail: andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk
Website: www.bdo.co.uk
BDO LLP is the award-winning, UK Member
Firm of BDO International, the world's fifth largest
accountancy network with more than 600 offices in
100 countries.
We have a partner-led approach, which delivers
the highest quality of service by using short,
functional chains of communication to aid
decision-making. Clients benefit from our fresh
thinking, constructive challenge and practical
understanding of the issues they face. Developing
strong, personal relationships with our clients is at
the forefront of our service approach.
Tax advice is just one of our award-winning services
and our expatriate team give practical and direct
advice, delivering solutions which suit your needs.

Entries in this Directory cost £175
per issue or £700 per annum.
For further details email
helen@internationalhradviser.com